Robin Hood's Butts facts for kids
Robin Hood's Butts are a fascinating group of nine ancient burial mounds located near Otterford in Somerset, England. These mounds were built a very long time ago, during the Bronze Age. The Bronze Age was a period in history when people started using bronze to make tools. These special mounds are considered so important that they have been officially protected as ancient monuments.
What Are Robin Hood's Butts?
Robin Hood's Butts are special mounds of earth that people built during the Bronze Age. These mounds are also known as barrows or tumuli. They were often used as places to bury important people or families from that time.
There are nine of these mounds in total. They are found on the Blackdown Hills, a beautiful area in Somerset. Because they are so old and important, they are now protected by law. This means they cannot be damaged or built over.
How Big Are These Ancient Mounds?
The mounds at Robin Hood's Butts come in different shapes and sizes. Some of them are called bowl barrows. These look like an upside-down bowl. Two of these bowl barrows are quite large. They are located about 210 metres (690 ft) and 600 metres (2,000 ft) northwest of Brown Down Cottage. These two mounds are between 28 metres (92 ft) and 88 metres (289 ft) wide.
Two other bowl barrows are found about 380 metres (1,250 ft) west and 685 metres (2,247 ft) northwest of Beech Croft. These are a bit bigger, measuring 42 metres (138 ft) and 44 metres (144 ft) across.
The other mounds are called round barrows. These are also circular in shape. They are located about 100 metres (330 ft) south of School Farm. Four of these are bowl-shaped, just like the larger ones. The last one is a bell barrow, which means it has a flat area around its base, making it look a bit like a bell.
Where Did the Name Come From?
No one knows for sure how Robin Hood's Butts got its name. However, there's a fun local story about it! People in the area used to say that the famous outlaw Robin Hood and his friend Little John played a game called quoits here. Quoits is a game similar to horseshoes, where players throw rings at a peg.
We know the name has been used for a long time. It appeared on an old map from 1844 called a tithe map. A tithe map was a map made to show who owned land and how much tax they owed.
