Monument record MDO7643 - Late prehistoric round barrow on Rings Hill, East Lulworth

Round barrow situated on a tongue of chalk land projecting West from Rings Hill. Badly damaged. A circular mound is visible as an earthwork on aerial photographs of Halcombe Vale. It is considered likely to be the remains of a late prehistoric round barrow. It is one of two potential round barrows located here (MDO7643-44).

`A' - Bowl barrow, 109 paces diameter and 3ft high.

Either of these two barrows, or another two between Lulworth and Flower's Barrow, were opened by J Milner, but very badly recorded in Gents. Mag. <2>

'A' - (29) - SY 85668048. Bowl barrow, about 21ft diameter and 2ft high, on a tongue of land projecting west below Rings Hill. Much damaged.

It is probable that there are those 2 barrows excavated in 1790 by J Milner "opposite to East Lulworth, on a level piece of ground that is met with on the ascent of a steep lofty mountain.... Flower's Barrow", the bottom of which was paved with cobbles "which had apparently been fetched from the adjacent shore". The barrows "were situated near what had formerly been an inhabited spot as the name Ariah Mill indicates". Finds from the 2 barrows included fragments of urns, human and horse bone, horse or ox teeth, boars' tusks, pointed stones and corroded metal, "seemingly iron". <4>

SY 857805. Two round barrows on Rings Hill. <5>

SY 85658047. Bowl barrow, now so mutilated as to be practically unrecognisable as a barrow. Diameter approximately 8.0m, height 0.5m. Both barrows are in rough grass. Resurveyed at 1:2500 on M.S.D. <6>

A circular mound, approximately 12.7m in diameter, is visible as an earthwork on aerial photographs of Halcombe Vale <7>. It is considered likely to be the remains of a late prehistoric round barrow. It is one of two potential round barrows located here (MDO7643-44). This feature was digitally plotted during the South West Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey (Dorset).

<1> Ordnance Survey, Ordnance Survey Map 6in, 1902 (Map). SWX1540.

('A' - SY 85658047; 'B' - SY 85678048) Tumuli (NR)

<2> Quinnell, N V, Various, Field Investigators Comments NVQ, F1 NVQ 10-JUL-52 (Unpublished document). SDO11903.

<3> Grinsell, L V, 1959, Dorset Barrows, 106 (Monograph). SDO132.

<4> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), 1970, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume II (South East) Part 3, 445 (Monograph). SDO150.

‘(29) Bowl (85668048). On tongue of land projecting W. below Rings Hill at about 150 ft. above O.D. Diam. about 21 ft., ht. 2 ft. Much damaged.’

<5> Department of the Environment, 1977, Department of the Environment (IAM) Ancient Monuments of England Vol 2, 63 (Monograph). SWX2300.

<6> Barton, J G, Various, Field Investigators Comments JGB, F2 JGB 08-AUG-81 (Unpublished document). SDO11900.

<7> Channel Coastal Observatory, 20-JUL-2008, CCO Aerial Photographic Coverage 2008 (Aerial Photograph). SDO12674.

<8> National Record of the Historic Environment, 455378 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Dec 8 2024 3:54PM