Monument record MDO6998 - Bell Barrow on Affpuddle Heath, Affpuddle

A bell barrow with surrounding ditch. In 1970 this monument was reported as 22m in diameter overall with a mound 2m high, and damaged. The barrow is visible as an earthwork on lidar imagery obtained in 2010, measuring 18m in diameter.

a). Small with a well-defined berm. A bell-barrow. b). A fine bowl barrow, large and ditched. (Grinsell 1935-1954)

'a' has a diameter of 17.5m and a height of 1.8m it has a surrounding ditch with an average width of 2.0m and an average depth of 0.4m. The mound has been mutilated in the south east by a military slit trench. The ditch has been mutilated in the North, West and South West by slit trenches while mound and ditch have been mutilated by continued passage of vehicle. In a SE-NW direction the barrow is heather covered. The barrow averages 0.5m wide and is sloping. A bell barrow.(Rigg 1952)

A small example with well defined berm, west of Culpepper's Dish. (Grinsell 1959)

'A' - (55) (SY 80539236) Bell (?) barrow, 52ft diameter including berm and 51/2ft high with ditch 8ft wide and 1ft deep. Much damaged. (RCHME 1970)

SY 801923 - SY 815924. Round barrows on Affpuddle and Bryants Puddle Heath. (DoE 1978)

'A' SY 80549235. Bell barrow with ditch, overall diameter 22.0m., ditch 2.0m. Wide and 0.3m. Deep, height 2.0m. Above ditch. The berm and ditch are not visible on the south-west quadrant, where the barrow has been damaged by forestry operations. Re-surveyed at 1:2500 on. (Barton 1981)

The barrow is visible as an earthwork on lidar imagery on Affpuddle Heath. The barrow is sub-circular in shape and measures 18 m in diameter (Environment Agency 2010). A second barrow is located 145 m to the south east (see MDO6999) and may be associated with it. This feature was digitally plotted as part of the Wild Purbeck Mapping Project.

Royal Commission on Historic Monuments, Externally held archive: RCH01/093 RCHME Inventory: Dorset II (South-East) (Unpublished document). SDO17434.

Historic England, National Record of the Historic Environment, 456193 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Barton, J G, Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Field Investigator's Comments JGB, F2 JGB 06-FEB-81 (Unpublished document). SDO11900.

Rigg, J, Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Field Investigator's Comments JR, F1 JR 24-SEP-52 (Unpublished document). SWX1255.

Ordnance Survey, Ordnance Survey Map 6in, 1902 (Map). SWX1540.

TUMULI [OE] [TWO]

Grinsell, L V, 1935-54, Dorset Barrows 1935-54 Manuscript (Unpublished document). SWX1556.

Grinsell, L V, 1959, Dorset Barrows, 85 (Monograph). SDO132.

Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), 1970, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume II (South East) Part 3, 434 (Monograph). SDO150.

Department of the Environment, 1978, Department of the Environment (IAM) Ancient Monuments of England (Vol 2) (Monograph). SWX1687.

Environment Agency, 2010, Lidar DTM (Aerial Photograph). SDO13148.

Record last edited

Oct 1 2026 3:37PM