Robin Hood's Butts are a group of nine

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

barrows near

Otterford Otterford is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England. It is situated on the Blackdown Hills, south of Taunton. The village has a population of 356. The River Otter rises close to Otterford. History A series of round barrows on Brown ...

on the

Blackdown Hills The Blackdown Hills, or Blackdowns, are a range of hills along the Somerset-Devon border in south-western England. The plateau is dominated by hard chert bands of Upper Greensand with some remnants of chalk, and is cut through by river valleys. ...

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

, England. They have been scheduled as

ancient monument An ancient monument can refer to any early or historical manmade structure or architecture. Certain ancient monuments are of cultural importance for nations and become symbols of international recognition, including the Baalbek, ruins of Baalbek ...

Description

Two of the

bowl barrow A bowl barrow is a type of burial mound or tumulus. A barrow is a mound of earth used to cover a tomb. The bowl barrow gets its name from its resemblance to an upturned bowl. Related terms include ''cairn circle'', ''cairn ring'', ''howe'', ''ker ...

s and north west of Brown Down Cottage are between and in diameter. The two west and north west of Beech Croft are slightly larger with one being and the other in diameter. The other barrows are of the

round barrow A round barrow is a type of tumulus and is one of the most common types of archaeological monuments. Although concentrated in Europe, they are found in many parts of the world, probably because of their simple construction and universal purpose. ...

type and are located south of School Farm. Four are bowl shaped and the other a

bell barrow A bell barrow, sometimes referred to as a Wessex type barrow, campanulate form barrow, or a bermed barrow, is a type of tumulus identified as such by both John Aubrey and William Stukeley. In the United Kingdom, they take the form of a circula ...

Origin of names

The origin of the name is unknown, however local folklore describes their use by

Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary noble outlaw, heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature, theatre, and cinema. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions o ...

and

Little John Little John is a companion of Robin Hood who serves as his chief lieutenant and second-in-command of the Merry Men. He is one of only a handful of consistently named characters who relate to Robin Hood and one of the two oldest Merry Men, alo ...

to play

quoits Quoits ( or ) is a traditional game which involves the throwing of metal, rope or rubber rings over a set distance, usually to land over or near a spike (sometimes called a hob, mott or pin). The game of quoits encompasses several distinct vari ...

. The name is known to have been used since the 19th century appearing on a

tithe map The term tithe map is usually applied to a map of an England, English or Wales, Welsh parish or township, prepared following the Tithe Commutation Act 1836. This act allowed tithes to be paid in cash rather than goods. The map and its accompanying s ...

created in 1844.

References

{{coord, 50.9087, -3.0866, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Scheduled monuments in Taunton Dene Archaeological sites in Somerset