Scheduled Monument: Bowl barrow 500m north east of Bere Down Farm (1015380)
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Authority | Historic England |
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EH File Ref | AA 64122/1 |
Date assigned | 17 March 1997 |
Date last amended |
Description
EXTRACT FROM ENGLISH HERITAGE'S RECORD OF SCHEDULED MONUMENTS
MONUMENT: Bowl barrow 500m north east of Bere Down Farm
PARISH: BERE REGIS
DISTRICT: PURBECK
COUNTY: DORSET
NATIONAL MONUMENT NO: 28349
NATIONAL GRID REFERENCE(S): SY84449717
DESCRIPTION OF THE MONUMENT
The monument includes a bowl barrow situated on the crest of Bere Down,
overlooking the Bere Valley to the south west and Winterborne Valley to the
north. The barrow forms part of a wider group of seven which together form a
round barrow cemetery on Bere Down.
The barrow has a mound composed of earth, flint and chalk with maximum
dimensions of 28m in diameter and c.0.3m in height. The mound is surrounded by
a ditch from which material was quarried during the construction of the
monument. The ditch has become infilled over the years, but will survive as a
buried feature c.2m wide.
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 bowl barrow 500m north east of Bere
Down Farm survives comparatively well and will contain archaeological and
environmental evidence relating to the cemetery and the landscape in which it
was constructed.
MONUMENT INCLUDED IN THE SCHEDULE ON 17th March 1997
Location
Grid reference | Centred SY 8444 9717 (43m by 42m) |
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Civil Parish | Bere Regis; Dorset |
District (historic) | Purbeck |
Unitary Authority | Dorset |
External Links (1)
- View details on the National Heritage List for England (From EH UDS to Legacy x-reference)
Related Monuments/Buildings (1)
Record last edited
Oct 11 2024 11:21AM