Monument record MDO4366 - Bowl barrow, Milborne St Andrew

A Bronze Age bowl barrow situated on a north facing slope of Milborne Down, to the north east of Weatherby Castle hillfort obelisk. The barrow is part of a dispersed group of barrows on this ridge and is also part of a group of three barrows aligned broadly northwest to southeast. In 1970 this monument was reported as being around 60 feet in diameter with a mound about 1½ feet high. Aerial photographs taken in 1980 indicate an external bank surrounding the barrow and a trench suggesting that this barrow was excavated and could be one of several unlocated barrows on Milborne Down excavated by Charles Warne in the mid 19th century. Two of the barrows excavated by Warne contained secondary inhumation burials. However, it is not clear whether these were secondary Bronze Age burials or Saxon burials. The site was digitally recorded during the Dorset Upper Cerne and Piddle AIM Project.

Barrow 'B' - SY 81119659: One of three grass covered and ditchless bowl barrows varying from 18 metres to 32 metres in diameter and between 0.5 metres and 0.6 metres high. <1>

One of three round barrows on Milborne Down. It has been heavily ploughed. Barrow B - (24) - SY 81109662. Bowl barrow, 60 feet in diameter and 1 1/2 ft high. (This barrow is not listed by Grinsell). <3>

Barrow 'B' is visible as a cropmark on aerial photographs <4>. It has a ditch and an outer bank and also evidence of being 'trenched' from north to south. <5>

Barrow 'B': SY 81109662. Bowl barrow. It was not possible to inspect this barrow closely because of crops, but from a distance it was visible as a ploughed-down mound. Revised from RCHME measurements at 1:2500 on M.S.D. <6>

One of three bowl barrows located on a north facing slope of Milborne Down, to the northeast of Weatherby Castle hillfort obelisk. The barrow is part of a dispersed group of barrows on this ridge and is also one of three aligned broadly north west to southeast. It is visible as a slight earthwork. Aerial photographs taken in 1980 indicate an external bank surrounding the barrow and a trench suggesting that this barrow was excavated and could be one of several unlocated barrows on Milborne Down excavated by Charles Warne in the mid 19th century. <7>

Two of the barrows excavated by Warne located secondary inhumation burial including that of a infant. It is not clear whether these are secondary Bronze age burials or Saxon burials. (8)

The site of this round barrow is visible as a double concentric cropmark ring ditch on aerial photographs taken in 1982 (9). The inner ring is 11.5m across, and the outer is 21m. Traces of an internal mound is visible as a low earthwork on lidar imagery (10). The site was digitally recorded during the Dorset Upper Cerne and Piddle AIM Project.

<1> Quinnell, N V, Various, Field Investigators Comments NVQ, F1 NVQ 15-NOV-1954 (Unpublished document). SDO11903.

<2> Ordnance Survey, Ordnance Survey Map 6in, 1968 (Map). SWX1540.

(Centred SY 811965) Tumuli (NR) (three shown)

<3> Royal Commission on Historic Monuments, 1970, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume III (Central) Part 2, 181-182 (Monograph). SDO136.

‘(24) Bowl (81109662), 30 yds. N. of (23), diam. 60 ft., ht. 1½ ft.’

<4> Ordnance Survey, 18-APR-1980, OS 80/021/229-30 (Aerial Photograph). SDO19594.

<5> Attrill, N J, Field Investigators Comments NJA, F2 NJA 21-JAN-1981 (Unpublished document). SDO14743.

<6> Barton, J G, Various, Field Investigators Comments JGB, F3 JGB 20-MAY-1981 (Unpublished document). SDO11900.

<7> English Heritage, Scheduling Amendment, 19-SEP-2000 (Scheduling record). SDO17245.

<8> National Record of the Historic Environment, 1457289 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

<9> National Monuments Record, 30-MAR-1982, NMR 2110/1260 (Aerial Photograph). SDO20769.

<10> Environment Agency, 15-DEC-2023, LIDAR Environment Agency DTM (Aerial Photograph). SDO20691.

Record last edited

Sep 12 2024 2:11PM