Scheduled Monument: Two bowl barrows both 350m north east of Spring Garden Barn (1015898)

EXTRACT FROM ENGLISH HERITAGE'S RECORD OF SCHEDULED MONUMENTS MONUMENT: Two bowl barrows both 350m north east of Spring Garden Barn PARISH: BERE REGIS TURNERS PUDDLE DISTRICT: PURBECK COUNTY: DORSET NATIONAL MONUMENT NO: 29051 NATIONAL GRID REFERENCE(S): SY83469447 SY83539443 DESCRIPTION OF THE MONUMENT The monument, which falls into two areas, includes two bowl barrows situated on a ridge overlooking the Bere Valley to the north east and Piddle Valley to the south west. The barrows are 500m to the north west of the broadly contemporary round barrow cemetery on Blackhill. The barrows each have a mound composed of sand, earth and turf, with maximum dimensions of between 14m-15m in diameter and c.1.1m-c.1.25m in height. The north western barrow mound is partly overlain on the north eastern side by a bank and ditch which marks the course of the parish boundary. Surrounding each mound is a ditch from which material was quarried during the construction of the monument. The ditches have become infilled over the years, but each will survive as a buried feature 1.5m wide. 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. Despite some previous disturbance by military vehicles, the two bowl barrows 350m north east of Spring Garden Barn survive well and will contain archaeological and environmental evidence relating to the monument and the landscape in which it was constructed. SCHEDULING HISTORY Monument included in the Schedule on 6th October 1959 as: COUNTY/NUMBER: Dorset 413 NAME: Two Round Barrows north east of Gully Coppice The reference of this monument is now: NATIONAL MONUMENT NUMBER: 29051 NAME: Two bowl barrows both 350m north east of Spring Garden Barn SCHEDULING AFFIRMED ON 08th May 1997

Record last edited

Oct 9 2024 5:02PM