Monument record MDO5120 - Bowl barrow, Tarrant Monkton

A Bronze Age round barrow, mutilated by 20th century military activity. The barrow comprises a circular mound which measures just under 10m in diameter and appears to have a bell shape. The mound is surrounded by a narrow ring ditch. Situated within a military camp on aerial photographs taken in 1947 and still had a height of 0.6m when visited in 1954. It appears to have been adopted as an ornamental feature within the camp but the barrow may have suffered damage during the camp's construction and / or its subsequent demolition. One of a group of five situated to the west of Blackland Plantation.

(ST 92980813) Tumulus (NR). <5>

A small mutilated barrow 8.0m in diameter and 0.6m high. <2>

Bowl barrow. Destroyed during construction of Blandford military camp. <3, 4>

A Bronze Age round barrow, which has been mutilated by 20th century military activity. The round barrow is centred at ST 9298 0813 and comprises a circular mound which appears to have a bell shape. The mound measures just under 10m in diameter and is surrounded by a narrow ring ditch.

The extant round barrow is situated within a military camp on aerial photographs taken in 1947 <1> and still had a height of 0.6m when visited in 1954 <2>. It appears to have been adopted as an ornamental feature within the camp (see ST 90 NW 131 / UID: 1478826), but the barrow may have suffered damage during its construction and / or through the camp's subsequent demolition. <1>

Note: The group of five barrows situated to the west of Blackland Plantation consists of the following 5 barrows: MDO5120, MDO5121, MDO5122, MDO5123 & MDO5124.

<1> Royal Air Force, 23-JAN-1947, NMR RAF/CPE/UK/1944 3313-3314, NMR RAF/CPE/UK/1944 3313-3314 23-JAN-1947 (Aerial Photograph). SDO18492.

<2> Wrathall, Reginald, Field investigator's comments RW, F1 RW 29-MAR-54 (Unpublished document). SDO18449.

<3> Grinsell, L V, 1959, Dorset Barrows, 136 (Monograph). SDO132.

<4> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), 1972, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume IV (North), 110 (Monograph). SDO99.

'Monuments (22-24), Round Barrows. Three barrows remain, but ten others have been destroyed since 1914 in the construction of Blandford military camp (Dorset Barrows, 136). Three of the destroyed monuments (Dorset Barrows, Nos. 2-4) lay around 914080, in an E.-W. line at the W. end of Monkton Down; two (Nos. 5 and 6) lay on the W. of Pond Bottom Plantation, around 920076, forming a compact group with (23) and (24); five (Nos. 9-13) lay W. of Blackland Plantaton, between 929086 and 930081. None of these barrows is known to have been excavated and all references to early excavations in Tarrant Monkton concern barrows in Launceston, which until the 19th century was part of Monkton parish. Certain barrows, however, which were excavated 'on Keynston Down' in 1846, may have been inside the boundary of Monkton (see Tarrant Keyneston, Round Barrows). Air photographs (C.U.A.P., ANC 73,74) show soil-marks of four ring-ditches, probably the remains of barrows, in a tight cluster at 95480934.'

<5> Ordnance Survey, Ordnance Survey 1:10,000 scale map, 1976 (Map). SDO17396.

<6> Bishop, Sharon, 2009, Tarrant Launceston 15 & Environs. Aerial Photograph Survey & Analysis, Object Number: MD002384 (Unpublished document). SDO12459.

<7> National Record of the Historic Environment, 209382 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Jan 8 2024 12:46PM