Monument record MDO840 - Bowl barrow, one of the Cheselbourne West Down Group, Cheselbourne

Bronze Age bowl barrow. In 1970 this monument was reported as being around 51 feet in diameter with a mound around 5 feet high. This may be one of six barrows in this area opened by antiquarian Charles Warne, who found cists filled with ashes in one, possibly cremation burials, and ashes in others. The site of this barrow is visible as low earthworks on lidar imagery and was digitally recorded during the Upper Cerne and Piddle Valley AIM project.

'B' - SY 73889948. Ditchless bowl barrow, 19.0m diameter and 1.1m high with hollow centre. <3>

'B' - (32) SY 73899947. Bowl barrow, 51 ft diameter and 5 ft high with large hollow in centre, full of flints, and probably the result of excavations. <4-5>

'B'. SY 73879947. Bowl barrow under grass, not ploughed over. Diameter 16.0 metres,height 1.3 metres. Hollow in centre. None of the barrows has a visible ditch. Re-surveyed at 1:2500 on MSD. <6>

The site of this barrow is visible as low earthworks on lidar imagery and was digitally recorded during the Upper Cerne and Piddle Valley AIM project. <8>

<1> Warne, C, 1866, The Celtic Tumuli of Dorset (1866) (Monograph). SWX8166.

<2> Ordnance Survey, Ordnance Survey Map 6in, 1902 (Map). SWX1540.

(Centred SY 739995) Tumuli (NR) (three shown)

<3> Rigg, J, Field Investigators Comments JR, F1 JR 19-AUG-55 (Unpublished document). SWX1255.

<4> Grinsell, L V, 1959, Dorset Barrows, 100 (Monograph). SDO132.

<5> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), 1970, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume III (Central) Part 1, 79 (Monograph). SDO146.

‘Of sixteen round barrows in the parish, Monuments (24–29) and (30–33) form two small groups on Cheselbourne West Down; the remainder are widely dispersed. … Cheselbourne West Down Group 2 consists of the following four barrows which lie in arable on the spine of a ridge between 350 ft. and 400 ft. O.D., less than ½ m. N. of the previous group. … (32) Bowl (73899947), 30 yds. E. of (31); a large hollow in the centre, full of flints, is probably the result of excavation; diam. 51 ft., ht. 5 ft.’

<6> Barton, J G, Various, Field Investigators Comments JGB, F2 JGB 06-NOV-80 (Unpublished document). SDO11900.

<7> National Record of the Historic Environment, 454667 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

<8> Environment Agency, 15-DEC-2023, LIDAR Environment Agency DTM (Aerial Photograph). SDO20691.

Record last edited

Oct 16 2024 7:20PM