| Wimble Toot | |
|---|---|
| Babcary, Somerset | |
 | |
  Wimble Toot | |
| Coordinates | 51°02′59″N 2°37′45″W / 51.0497°N 2.6291°W / 51.0497; -2.6291 |
| Grid reference | grid reference ST560280 |
| Type | tumulus or motte |
Wimble Toot is a burial mound or, possibly, a motte built near the village of Babcary, Somerset, England. It is a scheduled ancient monument with a list entry number of 1015279.
Etymology
Toot is derived from Old English tōt, meaning a lookout point.
Details
Wimble Toot is generally interpreted as a typical bowl barrow dating to the Bronze Age, between 2600 and 700 BC. Today the site forms a circular earthwork, 27.47 metres (90.1 ft) across and 2.74 metres (9.0 ft) high, with a ditch on the north-west and south-east sides, on the top of a ridge, overlooking a brook which runs into the River Cary and the old Roman road of the Fosse Way. The site is of an undetermined age, and appears to have been a part of the Romano-British landscape. In Roman times, Wimble Toot was situated at a crossroads.
An alternative interpretation is that the monument is a possible motte built between 1067 and 1069. According to this view, Wimble Toot was probably built by the Norman lord Robert of Mortain to protect the River Cary and the nearby settlement of Ilchester.
Today the site is a scheduled monument.
References
- ^ Historic England 2017.
- ^ Barker 1986, p. 20.
- Historic England 2015.
- Wimble Toot, National Monuments Record, accessed 19 July 2011; Prior, p.92.
- Prior, p.71.
- Prior, pp. 88, 93.
- Wimble Toot, Babcary, Gatehouse website, accessed 19 July 2011.
References
- Barker, Katherine (1986) "Pen, Ilchester and Yeovil: A Study in the Landscape History and Archaeology of South-East Somerset". Proceedings of the Somerset Archaeology and Natural History Society. Volume 130, pp. 11-45. Taunton, Somerset: Somerset Archaeology and Natural History Society.
- Historic England (2015) Pastscape: Wimble Toot. Swindon, Wiltshire, UK: Historic England. Accessed 2017-11-15.
- Historic England (2017) Bowl barrow known as 'Wimble Toot'. Swindon, Wiltshire, UK: Historic England. Accessed 2017-11-15.
- Prior, Stuart. (2006) The Norman Art of War: a Few Well-Positioned Castles. Stroud, UK: Tempus. ISBN 0-7524-3651-1.
Further reading
- Grinsell, L. V. (1971) "Somerset barrows, part 2: North and East." Somerset Archaeology and Natural History (115), Supplement (88).