Monument record MDO8445 - Oval Barrow, Hadden Hill, Bournemouth

A barrow thought originally to have been oval in shape and to have been constructed in the Late Bronze Age. Excavations in the 1920s revealed a layer of charcoal set on the old ground surface below the mound which was formed of sand. Sixteen cremation burials, some in urns, were excavated from within and immediately around the mound.

An oval barrow covering a large charcoal layer set on the old ground surface, and with a mound of sand. 16 cremations and urn burials were largely concentrated in the south east quadrant (12), with 2 just beyond the south east barrow edge, and one in each of the north west and south west quadrants. Five of the urns could be identified as barrel urns, but the pottery generally was badly disintegrated. The state of the pits suggested that the urns may have been placed inside and hot ashes poured into them, or the urns deposited filled with hot ash, since the underlying sand was very charred and caked solid. There were six urned burials (1 clearly inverted, 1 upright, the others undiscernible) and 10 simple cremations. Soil acidity had destroyed bone except one human fragment, but ashes had commonly survived. Burial 16 appears to have been the primary one (in the north west sector) and was under a few large stones.

Cremation and urn burials were found close under the surface on the extreme eastern edge and close outside it. The pottery was almost entirely disintegrated. The number of burials was 16, of which 6 were by cremation in urns, the remainder being by simple cremation.

It is reasonable to suppose that all these 16 burials were of the same period and contemporary with the Pokesdown urnfield (SZ 19 SW 10) and therefore can be ascribed to the L.B.A. The lowness of the barrow, the absence of a ditch, the great scarcity of burnt bone, and the absence of associated objects, all support this assumption. (Clay 1928)

There are no visible remains of this tumulus, the site being thickly covered with bracken and young fern. (Colquhoun 1951)

No trace, presumably destroyed when the area was extensively developed a few years ago. (Wardale 1969)

National Record of the Historic Environment, 458831 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Colquhoun, F D, Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Field Investigator's Comments FDC, F1 FDC 20-NOV-51 (Unpublished document). SWX2609.

Ordnance Survey, Ordnance Survey Map 6in, 1931-8 (Map). SWX1540.

(SZ 1136 9395) Oval Barrow (NR) site of

Clay, R C C, 1928, The Excavation of an Oval Barrow in Hadden's Hill Plantation, Bournemouth. The Antiquaries Journal, Volume 8, Issue 1, 87-89 (Article in serial). SWX868.

Wardale, C F, Various, Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Field Investigator's Comments CFW, F2 CFW 14-MAY-69 (Unpublished document). SWX2704.

Record last edited

Oct 16 2025 11:58AM