Some notes compiled by Danny Howell in 1990:
Copheap, the nearest hill to Warminster town centre, was formerly known as Cop Head Hill and features a Bronze Age burial mound at its summit.
Sir Richard Colt Hoare in his Ancient History Of South West Wiltshire noted “ . . . Cop Head Hill . . . situated at the back of the town of Warminster, is by nature of a conical shape but rendered more so by art, as its apex has been evidently formed into a tumulus. Like many of the barrows on our plains, it was encompassed by a ditch and bank which are still apparent. Its summit presents a most beautiful panorama of wood, hill and vale, and the interest of the antiquary is increased by the numerous British works which may be distinguished from this elevated point. We opened this barrow, which is only three feet in elevation, in October 1809, and at the depth of two feet on the south-east side, discovered a skeleton lying nearly north and south, the head towards the latter point; but several of the bones had been disturbed by planting a tree at the top of the barrow. With the skeleton were deposited some pieces of flint, which appeared to have been polished by use, some fragments of stag’s horns, the butt end of one of which had been cut off and perforated, and from its appearance used as a hammer. On the west of the tumulus, at the depth of about three feet, and a little below the floor, was another skeleton, with the head towards the west, but unaccompanied by any arms or trinkets. On the north side we found a cist nearly two feet deep, in which were two skeletons, and an interment of burned bones; but I conceive these interments had been disturbed by planting, as towards the feet of the skeletons there was a great deal of vegetable earth intermixed with the bones. In this cist we discovered the remains of an infant, and by its side those of a female adult, probably its mother, both lying from north west to south east. In examining the cist, near the body we met with burned bones, and a few ivory beads of the pulley form; and on the floor of the barrow was a little heap of burned bones, nearly half the original interment. There were six beads, and a sea shell (a nerite); the former certainly belonged to the interment of burned bones; the latter probably to the infant skeleton.â€