Monument record MDO3152 - Bell barrow in the Ridge Hill group, Winterborne St Martin

Bronze Age bell barrow, one of a group of five barrows and part of a larger barrow cemetery extending along the South Dorset Ridgeway. Recorded by field investigators as an extant mound, and visible as circular earthwork mound on aerial photographs

Five round barrows on Ridge Hill: 'A'. Bell (63818686) Diam 74ft, ht 12 ft with berm 12 ft wide. Ditch about 24 ft wide and 1 ft deep. Damaged. <1> <3>

'A'. SY 63818686. This bell barrow has been much damaged and neither berm nor ditch are now visible. Diameter 24.5m., height 5.0m. Damaged by quarry pit on east side.
All the barrows are in an arable field but only 'D' has been ploughed over. Re-surveyed at 1:2500 on M.S.D. <4>

All the barrows are in an arable field. Also visible as circular earthwork mound on aerial photographs <6-10>, measuring approximately 24 metres in diameter. This site was digitally plotted during the South Dorset Ridgeway Mapping Project.

<1> Grinsell, L V, 1959, Dorset Barrows, 155, 167 (Monograph). SDO132.

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

(Centred SY 639868) Tumuli (NR)

<3> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), 1970, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume II (South East) Part 3, 467 (Monograph). SDO150.

‘(52) Bell (63818686) 650 yds. E.N.E. of (51). Diam. 74 ft., ht. 12 ft., with berm 12 ft. wide. Ditch about 24 ft. wide and 1 ft. deep. Damaged.’

<4> Barton, J G, Various, Field Investigators Comments JGB, F1 JGB 06-MAY-80 (Unpublished document). SDO11900.

<5> Royal Commission on Historic Monuments, Externally held archive: RCH01/093 RCHME Inventory: Dorset II (South-East) (Unpublished document). SDO17434.

<6> Papworth, M, 1983, The South Dorset Ridgeway Project: condition and management survey, SDR 370 (Index). SDO12304.

Diameter 24.5m and ht. 5.0m. Damaged by basal ploughing. Evidence of past cattle erosion. Under established grass. The surrounding field is under ley pasture. 1/4/C

<7> Royal Air Force, 22-1-1948, RAF/CPE/UK/2431 3295-6 (Aerial Photograph). SDO11932.

<8> Royal Air Force, 17-1-1947, RAF/CPE/UK/1934 1063-5 (Aerial Photograph). SDO11906.

<9> 6-12-2006, NMR SY6386/26 (24499/01) (Aerial Photograph). SDO11939.

<10> 14-4-1957, CUCAP (UM70) (Aerial Photograph). SDO11940.

<11> Wessex Archaeology, 2011, South Dorset Ridgeway Barrow Survey 2010 (Unpublished document). SDO12407.

<12> National Record of the Historic Environment, 452436 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Oct 26 2023 10:48AM