Scheduled Monument: Two bell barrows and a bowl barrow, 200m north east of Haywards Farm (1015332)

EXTRACT FROM ENGLISH HERITAGE'S RECORD OF SCHEDULED MONUMENTS MONUMENT: Two bell barrows and a bowl barrow, 200m north east of Haywards Farm PARISH: BERE REGIS DISTRICT: PURBECK COUNTY: DORSET NATIONAL MONUMENT NO: 28396 NATIONAL GRID REFERENCE(S): SY82309673 SY82269684 SY82089674 DESCRIPTION OF THE MONUMENT The monument, which falls into three areas of protection, includes two bell barrows, to the north and west of the group, and a bowl barrow. All are situated on a gentle south east facing slope, overlooking the Bere valley. The barrows form part of a wider group of 11 which, together, form a round barrow cemetery on Roke Down. The two bell barrows each have a central mound composed of earth, flint and chalk, with maximum dimensions of between 18m and 23m in diameter and between 0.35m and 0.75m in height. The mounds are each surrounded by a berm or gently sloping platform which has become obscured due to ploughing. Each berm is surrounded by a ditch from which material was quarried during the construction of the monument. The ditches have become infilled over the years, but are known from aerial photographic evidence to survive as buried features. One of the bell barrows is known to have been partially excavated in the 19th century. The bowl barrow has a mound with maximum dimensions of 26m in diameter and about 0.45m in height. This barrow is also known from aerial photographic evidence to be surrounded by a quarry ditch. The south eastern area of the western bell barrow is not included in the scheduling were it has been quarried by the construction of a silage clamp. Excluded from the scheduling are all fence posts relating to the modern field boundary, although the ground beneath is included. ASSESSMENT OF IMPORTANCE Round barrow cemeteries date to the Bronze Age (c.2000-700 BC). They comprise closely-spaced groups of up to 30 round barrows - rubble or earthen mounds covering single or multiple burials. Most cemeteries developed over a considerable period of time, often many centuries, and in some cases acted as a focus for burials as late as the early medieval period. They exhibit considerable diversity of burial rite, plan and form, frequently including several different types of round barrow, occasionally associated with earlier long barrows. Where large scale investigation has been undertaken around them, contemporary or later "flat" burials between the barrow mounds have often been revealed. Round barrow cemeteries occur across most of lowland Britain, with a marked concentration in Wessex. In some cases, they are clustered around other important contemporary monuments such as henges. Often occupying prominent locations, they are a major historic element in the modern landscape, whilst their diversity and their longevity as a monument type provide important information on the variety of beliefs and social organisation amongst early prehistoric communities. They are particularly representative of their period and a substantial proportion of surviving or partly-surviving examples are considered worthy of protection. Despite some reduction by ploughing, the two bell barrows and bowl barrow 200m north east of Haywards Farm survive comparatively well and will contain archaeological and environmental evidence relating to the monument and the landscape in which it was constructed. MONUMENT INCLUDED IN THE SCHEDULE ON 09th March 2001

Record last edited

Apr 18 2017 11:50AM