Monument record MDO4964 - Bowl barrow, one of the Telegraph Clump Group, Tarrant Hinton

Now much ploughed, diameter; 65ft., height; less than 1ft. The barrow is visible as an earthwork on an aerial photograph dated 1928 and is still visible on current Environment Agency lidar imagery. It was digitally plotted from these sources during the Dorset Middle Stour AIM project.

Telegraph Clump Group comprises eight barrows together with Long Barrow (MDO4954). It is possible that some, together with neighbouring barrows in Tarrant Launceston, were opened in the 19th century. W. Shipp opened a barrow near the Telegraph' which contained a human leg-bone beneath a large cairn J.H. Austen opened two barrows in the same area; in one he found a primary cremation in a cist, in the other he found nothing. In 1840 Austen opened another barrow 'near Race Course', which contained a primary crouched interment with a long-necked beaker.

'G'. Bowl 92260945 now much ploughed; diam. 65 ft., ht. less than 1 ft. <1>

Bronze Age round barrow cemetery at Telegraph Clump on Blandford Race Down. The cemetery includes seven barrows, comprising a cluster of five with two outliers to the north. They have been ploughed in the past but most survive as earthworks, up to maximum of 0.5 metres in height. Some of the barrows may have been excavated in the 19th century. Finds included a primary cremation within a cist and a primary burial with a Beaker. One of the northern barrows overlies the lynchet of a field system which encompasses the cemetery and extends north. It has been much reduced by ploughing over time and is now visible mainly on aerial photographs. <4>

The barrow is visible as an earthwork on an aerial photograph dated 1928 and is still visible as a very ploughed out feature on current Environment Agency lidar imagery <5-6>. In 1928 the feature comprised a 15m in diameter central mound with a 5m or more wide outer ditch. The barrow is situated at the junction of two possible later prehistoric field boundaries. There may also have been some antiquarian excavation to the central mound <5>.

The feature was digitally plotted during the Dorset Middle Stour AIM project.

<1> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), 1972, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume IV (North), 100-101 (Monograph). SDO99.

'Telegraph Clump Group comprises eight barrows (27-34), together with long barrow (23), all over 360 ft. above O.D., on and near the summit of a Chalk ridge. Barrows (29-32) lie close together in a line immediately W. of (23); the others are more scattered. It is possible that some of these barrows, together with neighbouring barrows in Tarrant Launceston, were opened in the 19th century. W. Shipp opened a barrow 'near the Telegraph' which contained a human leg-bone beneath a large cairn (C.T.D., Pt. 2, no. 5). J.H.Austen opened two barrows in the same area; in one he found a primary cremation in a cist, in the other he found nothing (Ibid., nos. 25 and 26). In 1840 Austen opened another barrow 'near the Race Course', which contained a primary crouched interment with a long-necked beaker (Ibid., no. 23 and Pl. VII, no. 1) … (33) Bowl (92260945), now much ploughed; diam. 65 ft., ht. less than 1 ft.'

<2> Ordnance Survey, Ordnance Survey 1:10,000 scale map, 1976 (Map). SDO17396.

(Centred ST 922094) Tumuli (NR) (ST 91950935) Tumulus (NR)

<3> Cox, P W and Chandler, J, 1995, A Preliminary Archaeological Assessment of Proposed Works at Blandford Army Camp, Dorset: New Northern Perimeter Fence and Playing Fields, Site 10 (Unpublished document). SDO13904.

<4> English Heritage, Scheduling Amendment, 15-JUL-2003 (Scheduling record). SDO17245.

<5> Crawford, O G S, 17-JUL-1928, CCC 8837/420 (Aerial Photograph). SDO18887.

<6> Environment Agency, 16-NOV-2021, LIDAR Environment Agency DTM (Aerial Photograph). SDO18034.

<7> National Record of the Historic Environment, 209336 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Oct 25 2024 4:22PM