Monument record MDO7201 - Bowl barrow Higher Belt Coppice, one of the Bloxworth Down Group, Bloxworth

A bowl barrow visible as an earthwork. In 1970 this monument was reported as being around 45 feet in diameter with a mound 2½ feet high. The site of this round barrow is visible as a low earthworks on lidar imagery and cropmarks on aerial photographs. It was digitally recorded during the Dorset Middle Stour AIM.

'A' : SY 87679623; 'B': SY 87699621; 'C' : SY 87729623; 'D' : SY 87689625; 'E' : SY 87709628; 'G' : SY 8765967; 'H' : SY 87679626; 'J' : SY 87709624; 'K' : SY 87669619 'L' : SY 87709620; 'M' : SY 87729626; 'F' : SY 87639628.

'A' - 'D', 'H' - 'M', bowl barrows with diameters ranging from 10-23 paces and heights from 6 inches to 6 feet. LBA sherds were found on 'H' by L.V.Grinsell in 1954. 'G' and 'F' are probable bowl barrows

'E' is a disc-barrow with a mound, 48 feet in diameter and 2 1/2 feet high. The berm is 33 feet wide and the ditch and outer bank each 12 feet wide. Excavation revealed a primary cremation and eight bi-conical amber beads, six or seven segmented faience beads and bone tweezers beneath a collared urn. Intrusive burials of man, woman and two children at least three of which were crouched were near the top. Finds in the British Museum. (Grinsell, 1935-54 Manuscript)

Sitings as above except 'H' : SY 87679628; 'K' : SY 87669620; 'L' : SY 87709619; 'G' : SY 87649628; 'F' : SY87639629. A group of twelve barrows comprising eight definite bowl barrows - 'A', 'B', 'C', 'D', 'H', 'J', 'K', and 'L'; three probable bowl barrows - 'F', 'G' and 'M'; a disc-barrow - 'E'. The group is visible on air-photographs. 'F', 'H' and 'M' are ploughed out; the bank and ditch of 'E' is only partly visible. A 25" survey has been made. (Swatridge 1954)

Barrow "L" See attached concordance of barrows on Bloxworth Down as listed by Grinsell (1959) and RCHM (1970). See plan (Grinsell 1959).

Save for 'K' and 'L', the majority of this group is currently inaccessible. It is notable that air photographs (J) and (K) show a field system SY 89 NE 18 (now ploughed out) where some field boundaries terminated on barrows (see sketch plan).

O.S. air photographs show the distinct cropmark of the ditch of one bowl (?) barrow, about 35 metres overall diameter and centred at SY 87629628. The cropmark of the mound is visible as two separate parts, the result of a bisecting trench, about 8 metres wide, set in a N.E./S.W. direction. Since the barrow was not portrayed on the O.S. 25" 1901, it seems that little was then visible and the excavation trench was probably of 19th century origin.

'L'. Diameter 12.2 metres with traces of ditch on south-east 2 metres wide, 0.1 metres deep, originally surveyed by OS field investigator (1954). The diameters of 'k' and 'L' correspond with those depicted on 1:2500 on M.S.D. Barrows, other than 'A', 'B' and 'C' which are clearly extant, have been retained on the M.S.D. pending future investigation. (Attrill 1981)

The site of this round barrow is visible as a low earthworks on lidar imagery and cropmarks on aerial photographs. It was digitally recorded during the Dorset Middle Stour AIM. <2-3>

Swatridge, G C, Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Field Investigator's Comments GCS, 1954-11-09 (Unpublished document). SWX1169.

Attrill, N J, Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Field Investigator's Comments NJA, 1981-05-27 (Unpublished document). SDO14743.

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

['A' : SY 87679623; 'B': SY 87699621; 'C' : SY 87729623; 'D' : SY 87689625; 'E' : SY 87709628.] TUMULI [OE]

Ordnance Survey, Ordnance Survey Map 6in, 1963 (Map). SWX1540.

('A': SY 87679623; 'B': SY 87699621; 'C': SY 87729623; 'D': SY 87689625; 'E'; SY 87709628; 'G': SY 87659628; 'J': SY 87709623; 'K': SY 87669619; 'L': SY 87699619) Tumuli (NR)

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

<1> John Hutchins, edited by Gough and Cuming, 1774, The History and Antiquities of the County of Dorset. 1st edition. Volume 1, 184 (Monograph). SWX2949.

<2> Proceedings of the Archaeological Institute, 93 1849 (Serial). SDO19703.

<3> Society of Antiquaries of London, 1871, Archaeologia 43, 495 43(2) (Serial). SDO17248.

<4> Warne, C, 1888, Pamphlets and notices, 14 (Monograph). SDO17114.

<6> Abercromby, J, 1912, A Study of the Bronze Age Pottery of Great Britain and Ireland, 65 2 (Monograph). SDO10121.

<7> Royal Air Force, 11-APR-1947, RAF/CPE/UK/1974 3344-5 (Aerial Photograph). SDO19635.

<9> Society of Antiquaries of London, 1935, Archaeologia 85, 217 (Serial). SDO19666.

<11> Grinsell, L V, 1959, Dorset Barrows, 94 (Monograph). SDO132.

<13> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), 1970, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume II (South East) Part 3, 440 (Monograph). SDO150.

‘Bloxworth Down Group (SY 89 NE). Fifteen barrows, including one disc or bell-disc, and comprising all the barrows in the parish, lie on a N. slope at the W. end of a chalk ridge between 170 ft. and 236 ft. above O.D.; (29) is on the highest point in the parish, and ten others cluster N. and E. of it. … Two have been destroyed and all but (29) and (30) are badly damaged by ploughing, as are adjacent 'Celtic' fields (Group 33). … (30) Bowl (87709619) 35 yds. E. of (29). Diam. about 45 ft., ht. about 2½ ft.’

<14> Ordnance Survey, 18-APR-1980, OS 80/021 218-9 (Aerial Photograph). SDO19641.

<16> National Monuments Record, 06-JUN-2007, NMR 24629/48 (Aerial Photograph). SDO19895.

<17> Environment Agency, 16-NOV-2021, LIDAR Environment Agency DTM (Aerial Photograph). SDO18034.

<18> DCMS, 1998, Scheduled Monument Notification 1998, 1981-01-28 (Scheduling record). SWX1137.

<19> Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society of East Anglia, 102 4 (Article in serial). SDO20195.

<20> Royal Commission on Historic Monuments, Externally held archive: RCH01/093 RCHME Inventory: Dorset II (South-East) (Unpublished document). SDO17434.

<21> National Record of the Historic Environment (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Oct 14 2025 2:17PM