Monument record MDO6339 - Bell barrow on Bottlebush Down, Wimborne St Giles

A round barrow of a type known as a bell barrow. In 1975 this monument was reported as having a mound of about twenty one metres in diameter and about one and a half metres high, surrounded by a flat area (berm) about three metres wide with a four-metre wide ditch around the outside. The monument was dug into by the antiquarian William Cunnington, who found a primary cremation in a large urn, and beads of amber, shale and horn, fragments of a bronze pin, and an incense cup. The barrow is partly damaged by ploughing.

A bell barrow, one of a group of three dug into by William Cunnington in the early 19th century. It was described by RCHME as a mound partly damaged by ploughing but measuring 68 feet in diameter and 9 feet in height. It is surrounded by a berm 10 feet wide and a ditch 12-18 feet wide and 1 foot deep. Cunnington found a circular pit beneath the mound, within which was a cremation in a large urn "accompanied by several beads of amber, jet, horn, and brass, and a brass pin. Within it also was a beautiful little incense cup richly ornamented and containing a considerable quantity of decomposed wood". Cunnington mentions "brass" beads, while other sources refer to "glass", presumably faience. <1-4>

NB this barrow was formerly recorded as part of SU 01 NW 56. The other two barrows dug into by Cunnington are recorded as SU 01 NW 56 and SU 01 NW 218.

<1> Grinsell, L V, 1959, Dorset Barrows, 166 (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.

'(91) Bell (01911645), partly damaged by ploughing, yielded a primary cremation in a large urn, with beads of amber, shale and 'horn', fragments of a bronze (Unetice) pin, and an incense cup. The mound is 68 ft. across and 9 ft. high; the berm is 10 ft. across; the ditch is 12 ft.-18 ft. across and 1 ft. deep.'

<4> Barrett, J, Bradley, R and Green, M, 1991, Landscape, Monuments and Society: the prehistory of Cranborne Chase, 117 (Monograph). SDO16633.

<5> National Record of the Historic Environment, 1314494 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Jul 5 2024 7:28PM