Monument record MDO3182 - Bowl barrow in the Eweleaze Barn group, Winterborne St Martin

An Early Bronze Age bowl barrow, excavated in 1903 by Harold St George Gray and C Prideaux. The barrow is listed by Grinsell as Winterborne St Martin 46 and by RCHME as Winterborne St Martin 82. It is part of the Eweleaze Barn barrow group (see SY 68 NW 56 and associated records). At the time of the excavation, the mound was 82 feet in diameter and 12 feet high, surrounded by a ditch 10.5 feet wide. At the point where the excavation trench crossed it, the ditch was 3.5 feet deep. The mound was predominantly of turf with an outer chalk capping. Beneath it, and north of the centre, was a flint cairn (which included over 1000 struck flakes among the nodules). The cairn covered a subrectangular pit containing a crouched male inhumation with a handled bowl, plus 3 child inhumations with a smaller pottery vessel. Nearer the centre of the mound was a ring of stones enclosing an area circa 6.5 feet in diameter. Within the enclosed area was a cremation with the remains of an incense cup and a copper dagger with traces of its wooden sheath still extant. Numerous flints were found in and under the mound, including scrapers and a knife, while a quantity of flakes also came from the ditch section. Beaker and Romano-British sherds were also found. Gray noted in passing that an abortive attempt at digging down into the barrow from its summit had occurred "a few years" previously. In 1980, the Ordnance Survey described the mound as being 27.5 metres in diameter and 3 metres high with a flat top 7.5 metres in diameter. The ditch, circa 6 metres wide, was only visible on the south side. This barrow was originally described as part of SY 68 NW 56. That record should be consulted for additional sources and information. <10>

Primary crouched male interment aged 18-19 at time of death, with handled bowl in oblong grave; near this were the bones of three infants with a smaller food vessel. North of centre, a ring of stones enclosing bronze grooved dagger with remains of a wooden sheath, portions of an incense cup, and a subsequent primary or secondary cremation. <2>

Ten barrows including a pound barrow ('F') and a quadruple bell barrow ('K'), form an irregular linear cemetery orientated roughly North West to South East on top of the second spur east of Shorn Hill. 'K' is unique in England. 'A', 'C', 'D' and 'F' were excavated by St George Gray and Prideaux in 1902.

'A', Ditched bowl (64658780). Diam 82 ft ht 12 ft. Excavated ditch was flat-bottomed, 10 1/2 ft wide and 3 1/2 ft deep, around original turf mound, 64 ft in diam, 9 ft high and capped with chalk. North-South section across centre revealed crouched male inhumation with handled Beaker Bowl in oblong chalk-cut grave, with three child inhumations and smaller jar nearby, all under flint cairn.

South of these but still North of apparent centre, a ring of stones enclosed a cremation, fragments of incense cup and grooved copper dagger in wooden sheath (Wessex interment no 12). Many flint implements, cores, and flakes lay in and under mound. <2> <4>

'A'. SY 64648780. Bowl barrow in arable, not ploughed, with a ditch on the south side only. Diameter of mound 27.5m., height 3.0m., with a flat top 7.5m. Diameter. Ditch 6.0m. Wide and 0.2m. Deep. Re-surveyed at 1:2500 on M.S.D.

(SY64828728; 64828720; 64818712) The cropmarks of three probable barrows on Crawford air photograph, could not be traced in arable field. <5>

An Early Bronze Age ditched bowl barrow, excavated in 1903 by Harold St George Gray and C Prideaux {1}. At the time of the excavation, the mound was 82ft. in diam and 12ft. high. The excavated ditch was flat bottomed, 10.5ft. wide and 3.5ft. deep, around original turf mound, 64ft. in diam and 9ft. High, capped with chalk. N-S section across the centre revealed crouched male inhumation with handled Beaker bowl in oblong chalk cut grave, with three child inhumations and smaller jar nearby, all under flint cairn. S. of these but still N. of the apparent centre, a ring of stones enclosed a cremation, fragments of incense cup and grooved copper dagger in wooden sheath. Many flake implements, cores and flakes lay in and under the mound {2}.

It is also visible as a circular earthwork mound, approximately 22.8 metres in diameter, on aerial photographs <8-9> and LIDAR <10> and was digitally plotted during the South Dorset Ridgeway Mapping Project.

<1> Gray, H St George and Prideaux, C S, 1905, Barrow Digging at Martinstown, near Dorchester, 7-22 (Article in serial). SWX2050.

<2> Grinsell, L V, 1959, Dorset Barrows, 154 (Monograph). SDO132.

<3> Ordnance Survey, Ordnance Survey Map 6in, 1963 (Map). SWX1540.

(Centred SY 648874) Tumuli [NR] (three times)

<4> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), 1970, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume II (South East) Part 3, 469 (Monograph). SDO150.

<5> Barton, J G, Various, Field Investigators Comments JGB, F1 JGB 06-MAY-80 (Unpublished document). SDO11900.

<6> Papworth, M, 1983, The South Dorset Ridgeway Project: condition and management survey, SDR 343 (Index). SDO12304.

Bowl barrow in arable, not ploughed, with a ditch on the south side only. Diameter of mound 27.5m, ht. 3.0m with a flat top 7.5m diameter. Ditch 6.0m wide and 0.2m deep. Surrounded by 4 metal marker posts. 1/2/C

<7> Wessex Archaeology, 2011, South Dorset Ridgeway Barrow Survey 2010 (Unpublished document). SDO12407.

<8> Royal Air Force, 04-NOV-1946, RAF/CPE/UK/1824 3293-5 (Aerial Photograph). SDO11893.

<9> Royal Air Force, 17-1-47, RAF/CPE/UK/1934 3091-3 (Aerial Photograph). SDO11887.

<10> 24-1-2008, LIDAR D0089657 (Aerial Photograph). SDO11894.

<11> National Record of the Historic Environment, 1268153 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Feb 29 2024 10:39AM