Monument record MDO47265 - Bowl barrow in the Rew group, Winterborne St Martin

A bowl barrow, excavated by Sydenham in around 1839-40. At the time, it was circa 18 feet high and 40 feet in diameter. The mound was covered by a layer of flints 2.5 feet thick. Below this were layers of "brown and black mould", interspersed with some thin deposits of ashes. At the centre was a cairn of flints, the lower portion of which comprised broken and chipped flints while the upper portion comprised large unbroken flints. Beneath the cairn was a chalk-cut pit containing on its floor two crouched inhumations and a deposit of cremated bone. The cairn had been piled up directly on top of these. Between the upper and lower parts of the cairn was an extended child inhumation with a small pottery vessel. Near the top of the cairn was a cremation in a collared urn. On the southern side of the mound, a foot beneath the surface (and presumably in the outer flint layer) was a biconical urn containing some cremated bone plus faience, bone and shell beads. Two more secondary cremations were found, one in a pottery vessel, the other covered by a sherd of a large vessel. Near the top of the mound was an unaccompanied extended child inhumation (Saxon?).

Three barrows situated on the down adjoining the Bridport road at the Third milestone from Dorchester were excavated by Warne, Sydenham and Hall in 1839-40. <1-2>

(i) A "bowl-shaped" barrow, (Sydenham's No 1; Warne No 70) about 40ft diameter and 18ft (sic) high contained a large flint cairn covering a central chalk-cut grave. Two crouched inhumations and a cremation burial were found on the grave floor, and between the flint layers of the inner cairn an extended inhumation of a child with a vessel was seen. Near the top of the cairn, a deposit of cremated bones and ashes within an upright collared urn were also seen. A probable inverted biconical urn with two perforated lugs, containing cremation was seen on the south side of the barrow. This urn also contained a few beads including a cylindrical bone bead, a faience quoit bead, a faience star-bead and a small perforated cowrie shell, probably worn as a bead. Near this urn but more towards the centre of the barrow was a cremation burial in an ornamented urn, 7ins high. A fragment of a very large urn covered with a "careless net-like ornament" was found associated with a cremation deposit just below the surface of the barrow. A few inches below the summit, the extended inhumation of a child was seen.

(ii) A barrow (Sydenham's No 2; Warne No 26) a few yards west of (i) and of similar size, contained a flint cairn covering a central, shallow chalk-cut grave, about 7ft long x 4ft wide x 7ins deep. An extended inhumation together with a broken vessel and a stag's antler, were found within the grave. Above the flint cairn was the inhumation of a child with a food-vessel, an a few inches above this was a biconical urn (inverted) containing cremated bones. On the summit of the mound, immediately below the surface was an extended inhumation surrounded by fragmented coarse pottery.

(iii) A barrow (Sydenham's No 3; Warne No 30) 30ft diameter and 8ft high, to the west of (ii) contained a flint cairn covering a large circular chalk-cut grave, 5ft diameter and nearly 5ft deep. Five inhumations were found in the grave; three of which had been "hastily deposited". About 3ft from the top of the barrow were two more inhumations but no pottery was encountered during excavation. <3>

Grinsell lists this barrow as Winterborne St Martin 5a, but suggests it is probably to be identified with one of Winterborne St Martin 1-5. RCHME suggest that it is probably one of their barrows Winterborne St Martin 107-113. Both indicate that it was probably one of the so-called Rew Group (SY 69 SW 49). Problems of identification stem from the lack of locational detail offered by Warne and Sydenham.

RCHM considered that one of the barrows in the "New Group" (SY 69 SW 49) and two more, specifically Nos 114 - SY 64269034 and 115 - SY 64319034, in the "Third Milestone Group" (SY 69 SW 51) were those excavated by Warne, Sydenham and Hall. <4>

<1> Sydenham, J, 1844, An account of the opening of some barrows in south Dorsetshire; Archaeologia 30 (Article in serial). SDO17222.

<2> Warne, C, 1866, The Celtic Tumuli of Dorset (1866), tovp 70 (Monograph). SWX8166.

<3> Grinsell, L V, 1959, Dorset Barrows, 151 (Monograph). SDO132.

<3.1> Society of Antiquaries of London, 1933, The Antiquaries Journal 13, 448 (Serial). SDO16730.

<3.2> University of London, Institute of Archaeology, 1956, University of London, Institute of Archaeology annual report, 35 (Serial). SDO20215.

<4> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), 1970, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume II (South East) Part 3, 470 (Monograph). SDO150.

‘REW GROUP (SY 69 SW). Five, possibly seven barrows, including one probable disc barrow, on summit of hill in the extreme N.W. of the parish. Two were probably excavated by Sydenham: his no. 1 contained two primary contracted inhumations and a cremation at bottom of grave beneath a flint cairn. In the cairn was an extended child inhumation with small vessel (in D.C.M.), and at the top was an inurned cremation. On S. of the mound was a cremation in a biconical urn with remains probably of a necklace consisting of cylindrical bone bead, faience quoit-bead, faience star-bead and cowrie shell. Nearby was a fourth inurned cremation, and a fifth cremation lay near the surface with a fragmentary urn. In the top of mound was extended child inhumation (Archaeologia XXX (1844), 329–31; C.T.D., tovp, no. 70; Abercromby II, 42; Ant. J. XIII (1933), 448; Butler and Smith (1956), 35). A barrow nearby contained a cremation and an extended inhumation (C.T.D., tovp, no. 71)'

<5> Wessex Archaeology, 2011, South Dorset Ridgeway Barrow Survey 2010 (Unpublished document). SDO12407.

<6> National Record of the Historic Environment, 453825 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

<7> National Record of the Historic Environment, 1267516 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Oct 26 2023 3:00PM