Scheduled Monument: Two bowl barrows 350m south west of Keeper's Lodge south east of Bareden Down (1013745)

EXTRACT FROM ENGLISH HERITAGE'S RECORD OF SCHEDULED MONUMENTS MONUMENT: Two bowl barrows 350m south west of Keeper's Lodge south east of Bareden Down PARISH: IWERNE MINSTER DISTRICT: NORTH DORSET COUNTY: DORSET NATIONAL MONUMENT NO: 27349 NATIONAL GRID REFERENCE(S): ST89061501 DESCRIPTION OF THE MONUMENT The monument includes two bowl barrows aligned broadly north-south 350m south west of Keeper's Lodge, part of a group of four barrows south east of Bareden Down, two of which are no longer visible and for which insufficient detailed information is available to justify their inclusion in the Schedule at this stage. The two barrow mounds are now visible as slight earthworks and are notably stonier than the surrounding ground. The southern barrow has a mound c.13m in diameter and 0.2m high. The northern barrow was recorded by the OS in 1978 as 13m in diameter and 0.3m high. This is now visible only as a slight rise in the ground. The barrow mounds are 21m apart and in neither case is there any visible trace of the ditch surrounding the mound. These ditches will now survive as buried features c.2m 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 having been reduced in height by cultivation, the bowl barrows 350m south west of Keeper's Lodge south east of Bareden Down will contain archaeological remains, providing information about Bronze Age burial practices, economy and environment. SCHEDULING HISTORY Monument included in the Schedule on 16th February 1961 as: COUNTY/NUMBER: Dorset 564 NAME: Two round barrows south east of Bareden Down The reference of this monument is now: NATIONAL MONUMENT NUMBER: 27349 NAME: Two bowl barrows 350m south west of Keeper's Lodge south east of Bareden Down SCHEDULING REVISED ON 22nd April 1996

Record last edited

Sep 5 2024 4:35PM