Monument record MDO7412 - Bronze Age bowl barrow, Corfe Common, Corfe Castle

A circular mound is visible as an earthwork on aerial photographs of Corfe Common, Corfe Castle. It is considered likely to be the remains of a Bronze Age round barrow. It is one on a group of several round barrows located dispersed across the common (MDO7412-19 & MDO7540).

'A' - (186) SY 95678097. Bowl (?) barrow, 55ft diameter and 7 1/2ft high with flattened top. Apparently not excavated. <1> <4>

A plain tripalite urn in the British Museum collection has been identified as coming from one of these barrows or from the adjacent barrow groups. (SY 98 SE 17 or SY 98 SE 47) Brit Mus Acc. No. 1982.9-1.238. <2>

SY 962809. Group of round barrows on Corfe Common. Scheduled (see also SY 98 SE 17, 47). <5>

Four well preserved bowl barrows: SY95668097 20m in diameter with an average height of 1.8m. The top has been disturbed and flattened; part of the mound has also slumped. There is no clear trace of a ditch. <7>

A circular mound, approximately 19m in diameter and surrounded by a 0.5m wide outer ditch, is visible as an earthwork on aerial photographs of Corfe Common, Corfe Castle <9-12>. It is considered likely to be the remains of a Bronze Age round barrow. It is one on a group of several round barrows located dispersed across the common (MDO7412-19 & MDO7540). This feature was digitally plotted during the Wild Purbeck mapping project.

<1> Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1957, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society for 1956, 76 (Serial). SDO56.

<2> Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1960, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society for 1959, 118 (Serial). SDO59.

<3> Ordnance Survey, Ordnance Survey Map 6in, 1963 (Map). SWX1540.

('A'-SY 95678097) Tumulus (NR)

<4> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), 1970, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume II (South East) Part 3, 443 (Monograph). SDO150.

‘Corfe Common Group (SY 98 SE; Fig. p. 97). Eight barrows straggle along the spine of a ridge about 150 ft. above O.D. All but (191) are bracken-covered. LVG 10a-c, between (192) and (193), are unidentifiable. (186) Bowl (?) (95678097). Diam. 55 ft., ht. 7½ ft. Top flattened but not apparently excavated.’

<5> Department of the Environment, 1978, Department of the Environment (IAM) Ancient Monuments of England (Vol 2), 62 (Monograph). SWX1687.

<6> Papworth, M D J, Trust for Wessex Archaeology, 1983, Isle of Purbeck Survey, IOP 32 (Index). SDO147.

‘Probable bowl barrow. Diam. 16.8m and Ht.2.3m. Situated on heathland a prominent rise covered in grass and blackberry and bracken. Mound slightly flattened on the N. side. Land used for rough grazing for horses and cattle. OS SY98SE16. RAF/VAP/1821-2410. 1/2/B.’

<7> Fletcher, Martin, Field investigator's comments MJF, Field Investigation 20-DEC-2003 (Unpublished document). SDO17630.

<8> Royal Commission on Historic Monuments, Externally held archive: RCH01/093 RCHME Inventory: Dorset II (South-East) (Unpublished document). SDO17434.

<9> Royal Air Force, 18-FEB-1970, RAF 58/0254 0022 (Aerial Photograph). SDO13680.

<10> Ordnance Survey, 19-APR-1982, OS 82047 427-428 (Aerial Photograph). SDO13682.

<11> Dorset County Council, 2002, VAP (Aerial Photograph). SDO13141.

<12> Pan Government Agreement, 2008, PGA (Aerial Photograph). SDO13137.

<13> Historic England, Historic England Archive, AF00137 (Index). SDO14738.

Corfe Common, Dorset. A large scale archaeological survey and investigation of Corfe Common was commissioned by the National Trust to provide detailed information to aid future management and conservation decisions. The common is a unique landscape, an SSSI entirely enclosed by cultivated land, which incorporates an impressive variety of relatively undisturbed archaeological features. The analytical investigation was undertaken by staff from the English Heritage Exeter Office in the Spring of 2003.Background AutoCAD files stored on CD03001: 'Plan.dwg' and '1to10000plan.dwg'.

<14> National Record of the Historic Environment, 456801 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Oct 22 2024 3:15PM