Monument record MDO6632 - Bowl barrow, one of the North Down Barn Group, Weymouth

Four round barrows at Northdown Barn consist of: (B') Ditched bowl (70848479) 60 yds. N.E of ('A') Diam 76 ft, ht 10 ft. Warne found cremation with mass of burnt material, 4 ft in diam, 3 ft thick, and probably the remains of the funeral pyre. Above was dog's skeleton immediately beneath cremation in handled urn. Barrow 'B' (SY 70848479) is listed by Grinsell as 8ft high. <2-3>

'B' - SY 70848479. Grass-covered. Diameter 25.0m by 23.5m, height 4.2m. The ditch is marked only by a richer growth of vegetation. 'A', 'B' and 'C' re-surveyed at 1:2500 on M.S.D. <4>

Bronze Age barrow, visible as a low earthworks on aerial photographs <7-9>. One of a group of barrows at Northdown Barn. The site was digitally plotted during the South Dorset Ridgeway Mapping Project.

<1> Ordnance Survey, Ordnance Survey Map 6in, 1890 (Map). SWX1540.

(Centred SY 709847) Tumuli (NR) (four shown)

<2> Grinsell, L V, 1959, Dorset Barrows, 142 (Monograph). SDO132.

<3> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), 1970, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume II (South East) Part 3, 457 (Monograph). SDO150.

'(R.13) NORTHDOWN BARN GROUP (SY 78 SW). Five bowls on the S. side of the Ridgeway along the narrow col between West Hill and East Hill Groups. A mound (LVG 48) at 70728481 is probably spoil from an adjacent pit. The barrows are in Weymouth and Poxwell. … (420) Ditched bowl (70848479) 60 yds. N.E. of (419). Diam. 76 ft., ht. 10 ft. Warne found cremation with mass of burnt material, 4 ft. in diam., 3 ft. thick, and probably the remains of the funeral pyre. Above was dog's skeleton immediately beneath cremation in handled urn.'

<3.1> Warne, C, 1866, The Celtic Tumuli of Dorset (1866) (Monograph). SWX8166.

<4> Barton, J G, Various, Field Investigators Comments JGB, F1 JGB 27-JUN-80 (Unpublished document). SDO11900.

<5> Papworth, M, 1983, The South Dorset Ridgeway Project: condition and management survey, SDR 623 (Index). SDO12304.

Diameter 25.0m x 23.5m, ht. 4.2m. Ditch is only marked by a richer growth of vegetation (1980). Hollow in centre is fenced off as it is dangerous to cattle. Owner reports it was dug in 1939-45 war. Perimeter slightly steepened by basal ploughing. 1/2/C

<6> Wessex Archaeology, 2011, South Dorset Ridgeway Barrow Survey 2010 (Unpublished document). SDO12407.

<7> 12-APR-1983, NMR SY 7084/1-4 (2134/0228-31) (Aerial Photograph). SDO11752.

<8> 15-FEB-2005, NMR SY 7084/11 (23814/02) (Aerial Photograph). SDO11750.

<9> Royal Air Force, 04-NOV-1946, RAF/CPE/UK/1821 6439-40 (Aerial Photograph). SDO11751.

<10> National Record of the Historic Environment, 454363 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Dec 22 2023 12:41PM