Monument record MDO259 - Bowl Barrow in the Ridgeway Hill Group, Bincombe

Ditched bowl barrow. This monument was recorded as 64 feet in diameter with a mound about 3½ feet high before excavation in 1963. The excavators found that the barrow had been built over, and preserved, a Neolithic land surface and probable occupation site. The barrow comprised a central cairn covered with a turf stack capped with chalk. Beneath the cairn was a contracted inhumation of an adult and, separately, of a child. There were six later inhumations, one beneath a wooden slat, another of a child.

Grinsell recorded this barrow as 27 paces in diameter and 3 feet in height. <1>

Round barrows on Ridgeway Hill : 'C' Ditched bowl (67558584) 65 yds. N.E. of 'B'. Diam. 64 ft., ht. 3 1/2 ft., before excavation in 1963. Several Neolithic pits with artefacts of Portland Chert, probably indicating occupation sites, underlay a land surface containing late Neolithic material on which barrow was built. Central cairn was covered by turf stack capped with chalk. Beneath cairn was contracted inhumation with necked beaker in central cist, and unaccompanied contracted child inhumation in cist 2 1/2 ft. long. Six secondary inhumations occurred in a stratigraphical sequence: the first, with food-vessel, was disturbed by the second, slightly
contracted and also with food-vessel, inside stone-lined cist; the third, also slightly contracted and with Wessex vase-support, underlay the fourth in same pit; the fifth lay contracted beneath wooden slat, and the sixth, contracted and in pit, was of a child. Ditch 4 ft. wide and 2 1/2 ft. deep; overall diam. 85 ft. <4>

'C' SY 67558584 Diameter 26.0m, average height 0.6m. No visible ditch (?ploughed out). All the barrows are in arable. Re-surveyed at 1:2500 on MSD. <5>

A RCHME level 3 air photographic interpretation project (Event UID 932322) was carried out on this monument in October 1993. In several cases the marks seen on the photographs were such as would normally be associated with a shallow depression, but examination on the ground which post-dates the photographs makes it quite clear that they all still possess relief. The changes noted were as follows: 'C' SY 67558584 The central area of this barrow appears as a vague depression with a slight berm and surrounding shallow ditch. The archive produced by the project (Collection UID 932274) is held by the RCHME. <8>

Visible on aerial photographs. The site was digitally plotted during the South Dorset Ridgeway Mapping Project.

<1> Grinsell, L V, 1959, Dorset Barrows, 91 (Monograph). SDO132.

<2> Ordnance Survey, Ordnance Survey Map 6in, 1963 (Map). SWX1540.

(Centred at SY 67638585) Tumuli (NR) Tumulus (NR) (twice)

<3> Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1965, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society for 1964, 102-103 (Serial). SDO64.

<4> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), 1970, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume II (South East) Part 3, 456-457 (Monograph). SDO150.

‘(27) Ditched bowl (67558584) 65 yds. N.E. of (26). Diam. 64 ft., ht. 3½ ft., before excavation in 1963. Several Neolithic pits with artifacts of Portland Chert, probably indicating occupation sites, underlay a land surface containing late Neolithic material on which barrow was built. Central cairn was covered by turf stack capped with chalk. Beneath cairn was contracted inhumation with necked beaker in central cist, and unaccompanied contracted child inhumation in cist 2½ ft. long. Six secondary inhumations occurred in a stratigraphical sequence: the first, with food-vessel, was disturbed by the second, slightly contracted and also with food-vessel, inside stone-lined cist; the third, also slightly contracted and with Wessex vase-support, underlay the fourth in same pit; the fifth lay contracted beneath wooden slat, and the sixth, contracted and in pit, was of a child. Ditch 4 ft. wide and 2½ ft. deep; overall diam. 85 ft. (Information from excavator; Dorset Procs. LXXXVI (1964), 103.)’

<5> Barton, J G, Various, Field Investigators Comments JGB, F1 JGB 01-FEB-80 (Unpublished document). SDO11900.

<6> Grinsell, L V, 1982, Dorset Barrows Supplement, 34 (Monograph). SWX1703.

‘Add: RCHM BINCOMBE 27. D. Excav. M. E. Best, 1963: central grave contained contracted skeleton with necked beaker; satellite grave 2 ft. 6 in. long contained contracted skeleton of infant; both interments beneath central cairn. Of 6 stratified secondary inhumations the first, in shaft grave, was with food vessel; this was disturbed by the second, slightly contracted and also with food vessel, in slab-lined grave; the third, also slightly contracted was with ‘Wessex’ vase support; above it was the fourth, in same grave; the fifth lay contracted beneath wooden slab; the sixth, in grave, was contracted skeleton of child. The barrow was a cair covered by turf stack capped with chalk, and constructed on Late Neolithic occupation site. Best, 1965.’

<7> Papworth, M, 1983, The South Dorset Ridgeway Project: condition and management survey, SDR461 (Index). SDO12304.

Regularly ploughed and in ley pasture 1/3/C

<8> Crutchley, Simon, RCHME: A354 Dorchester to Weymouth Project, 01-OCT-1993 (Unpublished document). SDO20404.

<9> Wessex Archaeology, 2011, South Dorset Ridgeway Barrow Survey 2010 (Unpublished document). SDO12407.

<10> National Record of the Historic Environment, 452017 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Dec 22 2023 4:41PM