Scheduled Monument: The Hundred Barrow, a bowl barrow 350m south west of Chalk Pit Farm (1015892)

EXTRACT FROM ENGLISH HERITAGE'S RECORD OF SCHEDULED MONUMENTS MONUMENT: The Hundred Barrow, a bowl barrow 350m south west of Chalk Pit Farm PARISH: BERE REGIS DISTRICT: PURBECK COUNTY: DORSET NATIONAL MONUMENT NO: 28331 NATIONAL GRID REFERENCE(S): SY84469376 DESCRIPTION OF THE MONUMENT The monument includes a bowl barrow, known as the Hundred Barrow, situated on a spur overlooking the Bere Valley to the east. The barrow is situated 800m to the south east of a broadly contemporary round barrow cemetery on Black Hill. The barrow has a mound composed of earth, chalk and flint, with maximum dimensions of 16m in diameter and c.2.2m in height, surrounded by a ditch from which material was quarried during the construction of the monument. The quarry ditch has become infilled over the years, but will survive as a buried feature c.1.5m wide. The name `Hundred Barrow' reflects the selection of the site as the meeting place of the assembly from Bere during the Norman and successive medieval periods. Excluded from the scheduling are all fence posts relating to the modern field boundaries, although the ground beneath is included. ASSESSMENT OF IMPORTANCE Bowl barrows, the most numerous form of round barrow, are funerary monuments dating from the Late Neolithic period to the Late Bronze Age, with most examples belonging to the period 2400-1500 BC. They were constructed as earthen or rubble mounds, sometimes ditched, which covered single or multiple burials. They occur either in isolation or grouped as cemeteries and often acted as a focus for burials in later periods. Often superficially similar, although differing widely in size, they exhibit regional variations in form and a diversity of burial practices. There are over 10,000 surviving bowl barrows recorded nationally (many more have already been destroyed), occurring across most of lowland Britain. Often occupying prominent locations, they are a major historic element in the modern landscape and their considerable variation of form and longevity as a monument type provide important information on the diversity of beliefs and social organisations amongst early prehistoric communities. They are particularly representative of their period and a substantial proportion of surviving examples are considered worthy of protection. The Hundred Barrow, a bowl barrow 350m south west of Chalk Pit Farm, survives well and will contain archaeological and environmental evidence relating to the monument and the landscape in which it was constructed. The survival of the name `Hundred Barrow' reflects the importance that the site held during the medieval period. SCHEDULING HISTORY Monument included in the Schedule on 21st July 1959 as: COUNTY/NUMBER: Dorset 411 NAME: Hundred Barrow The reference of this monument is now: NATIONAL MONUMENT NUMBER: 28331 NAME: The Hundred Barrow, a bowl barrow 350m south west of Chalk Pit Farm SCHEDULING AFFIRMED ON 17th April 1997

Record last edited

Oct 11 2024 2:13PM