Scheduled Monument: Bowl barrow in Morden Park 350m south west of Hunting Bridge (1016281)

EXTRACT FROM ENGLISH HERITAGE'S RECORD OF SCHEDULED MONUMENTS MONUMENT: Bowl barrow in Morden Park 350m south west of Hunting Bridge PARISH: MORDEN DISTRICT: PURBECK COUNTY: DORSET NATIONAL MONUMENT NO: 29068 NATIONAL GRID REFERENCE(S): SY90359337 DESCRIPTION OF THE MONUMENT The monument includes a bowl barrow situated on level ground, overlooking the Sherford Valley to the south east. The barrow has a mound composed of earth, gravel and turf, with maximum dimensions of 14m in diameter and approximately 1.2m in height. On the top of the mound is a central hollow with maximum dimensions of 3m by 2.5m and approximately 0.25m deep. This is likely to represent an Antiquarian excavation hollow. The mound is surrounded by a ditch from which material was quarried during the construction of the monument. The ditch is visible to the south west and south east as an earthwork 1.2m wide and approximately 0.3m deep; elsewhere the ditch has become infilled, but will survive as a buried feature. 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 part excavation, the bowl barrow in Morden Park 350m south west of Hunting Bridge survives 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 23rd December 1997

Record last edited

Oct 9 2024 3:53PM