Monument record MDO407 - Bowl Barrow north of Forty Acre Plantation, Bradford Peverell

A Bronze Age bowl barrow visible as cropmarks on aerial photographs. In 1952 this monument was reported as 85 feet in diameter with a mound about 2 feet high. It is thought to have been opened in 1880 by antiquarian Edward Cunnington, who found an inhumation burial of a young person with two beakers, and a cremation.

Three round barrows north of Forty Acre Plantation opened by E Cunnington in 1880 and 1887. <3>

'A' - SY 66679181. Bowl barrow (RCHM No 15c; Grinsell No 26), 85 ft diameter and 2 ft high presumably Cunnington's barrow No 12 which contained an inhumation (? Primary) in a grave covered by a cairn together with two beakers now in Dorset County Museum, and a cremation to the south. <5>

'A' - Bowl barrow 26.0 m diameter and 0.6 m high, spread and under the plough with many flints exposed. <4>

Two beakers and one fragment (Corpus Nos 173-4) listed by Clarke. In Dorset County Museum, Dorchester Acc Nos 1884.9.98a and 99. <6>

'A' and 'B' have been ploughed down and their slopes now merge with the surrounding pasture. 'A' is approximately 26.0 metres in diameter and 0.4 metres high, and 'B' 25.5 metres in diameter and 0.3 metres high. Revised at 1:2500 on M.S.D. <7>

Bell Barrow located at SY 6649 9174 and 2 bowl barrows located at SY 6661 9177 and SY 6667 9181situated on a ridge overlooking the Frome valley and near part of the cosurse of a Roman aquaduct which once supplied water to Dorchester. The bell barrow is 1 metre in height and 20 metres in diameter. It was partially excavated by E Cunnington in 1887 and a burnt burial and ashes were discovered. The bowl barrows are both 0.5 metres in height and 30 metres in diameter. Cunnington excavated these in 1880 and found ashes in the western mound and a sketelon with 2 beakers in the eastern mound which were on display in the Dorset County Museum. Scheduled. <8>

Site of a Bronze Age bowl barrow, visible as cropmarks on aerial photographs. The barrow is 23m across and appears to have a large central pit. <9-10>

<1> Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1916, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Antiquarian Field Club for 1916, 42 (Serial). SDO25.

<2> Ordnance Survey, Ordnance Survey Map 6in, 1927-38 (Map). SWX1540.

('A' - SY 66679181; 'B' - SY 66619178) Tumuli (NR)

<3> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments England, 1952, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume I (West), 36 (Monograph). SDO97.

‘(15) Barrows, to the N. and E. of Forty Acre Plantation 1 m. S.E. of the church, are eight in number; some of them were opened by E. Cunnington 1879–87 (Dor. N.H. and Ant. F.C. xxxvii, p. 41). … (c), 70 yards N.E. of (b), is 85 ft. in diam. and 2 ft. high; it is presumably Cunnington's No. 12, was opened in 1880 and contained a skeleton, and a beaker and fragments of a second beaker now in the Dorset County Museum. ….’

<4> Rigg, J, Field Investigators Comments JR, F1 JR 13-SEP-1954 (Unpublished document). SWX1255.

<5> Grinsell, L V, 1959, Dorset Barrows, 96 (Monograph). SDO132.

‘Cunnington 12: inhumation (primary?) of young person placed N.-S., with 2 small beakers(?) and cremation to S. The inhumation was in a grave covered by a cairn. At least 1 beaker in DCM.’

<5.1> Cunnington, E, 1915, Cunnington MSS (Unpublished document). SDO10110.

<6> Clarke, D L, 1970, Beaker Pottery of Great Britain and Ireland, 479 (Monograph). SDO18289.

<7> Attrill, N J, Field Investigators Comments NJA, F2 NJA 23-MAR-1981 (Unpublished document). SDO14743.

<8> English Heritage, English Heritage Scheduling Amendment, 16-JAN-2001 (Scheduling record). SDO17245.

<9> 29-OCT-1997, NMR SY6691/9-10 (15846/10-11) (Aerial Photograph). SDO10866.

<10> 23-APR-1980, NMR SY6692/6-7 (1749/146-7) (Aerial Photograph). SDO10865.

<11> National Record of the Historic Environment, 453363 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Jan 1 2024 5:02PM