Monument record MDO6336 - Bowl barrow, one of the Handley Hill Group, Wimborne St Giles

A round barrow of a type known as a bowl barrow. In 1975 this monument was reported as being about fifteen metres in diameter and just around one and a half metres high. The monument has been much reduced by ploughing. The antiquarian William Cunnington explored this barrow, and found two fragmentary urns, which were interpreted as the remains of a primary and secondary burial. Two skeletons, intrusive later burials, were also found.

A bowl barrow, part of a group on Handley Hill (see SU 01 NW 28 and associated records). It lies at the point where the parish boundaries of Sixpenny Handley, Gussage All Saints and Wimborne St Giles meet. It was described by RCHME as a mound 50 feet in diameter and 5 feet high. It was dug into in the early 19th century by William Cunnington, who found a cremation in a large "barrel" urn, possibly representing the primary interment, accompanied by a smaller pottery vessel. Two intrusive skeletons were also present. [NB this barrow was formerly described as part of SU 01 NW 28.]

<1> Grinsell, L V, 1959, Dorset Barrows, 114 (Monograph). SDO132.

<2> Colt Hoare, Sir Richard, 1975, The ancient history of Wiltshire, 243 (Monograph). SDO18077.

<3> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), 1975, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume V (East), 102 (Monograph). SDO129.

'(88) Bowl (01411628), on the parish boundaries with Gussage All Saints and Sixpenny Handley; diam. 50 ft., ht. 5 ft. Excavation by William Cunnington yielded a cremation in a large 'barrel' urn, probably primary, accompanied by a smaller urn; both were fragmentary. Two intrusive skeletons were also found (Hoare, Ancient Wiltshire I, 243. Ant. J., XIII (1933), 448).'

<4> National Record of the Historic Environment, 1312918 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Nov 24 2022 1:29PM