Obadiah's Barrow

Obadiah’s Barrow is a Neolithic entrance grave on the island of Gugh in the Isles of Scilly. It sits on the steep southwestern slope of Kittern Hill, the highest point on Gugh. The grave is one of five entrance graves on the island and the largest of its kind. Excavations in 1901 by archaeologist George Bonsor revealed its structure and contents. The site dates to the Neolithic era, around 2500 BC, and belongs to a group of over 80 entrance graves recorded on the islands. These graves are recognised by their stone chambers built with edge-set slabs and large covering stones. The grave is worth the journey for its well-preserved chamber and the artefacts found inside. Bonsor discovered a crouching male skeleton in the chamber’s centre, along with a Bronze Age cremation urn and fragments. Near the entrance, he uncovered a bronze awl and more urn pieces, as well as cremated and unburnt bones. The site was named after Obadiah Hicks, a farmer who lived on nearby St Agnes at the time. Bonsor’s detailed plans and drawings of the grave remain an important record of the excavation. Visitors find a circular mound about 10 metres wide and 1.5 metres high, with a short passage leading to the inner chamber. The chamber measures 5.2 metres long and 1.4 metres wide, with walls 1.1 metres high. Four large slabs once covered the chamber, though two have fallen and partly lie inside. The entrance is partly blocked by upright stones, and the chamber walls are lined with stone slabs. The surrounding slope of Kittern Hill offers views across the island and the wider Scilly archipelago.