Monument record MDO8621 - Barrow 4, Hengistbury Head, Bournemouth

An elongated mound bisected by a road, probably a mutilated round barrow. It was excavated by St George Gray in 1919. No trace of any burials or pottery were discovered. A Collared urn found in 1958 may be the remains of a secondary burial. The possible remains of the barrow are visible as earthworks on aerial photographs of 1945.

Appears to be a Long Barrow. <1>

Excavated by H St G Gray in 1918. Non-sepulchral. Finds in Taunton. Excavation unpublished. <3>

An elongated mound cut in two by a wall. N-S 22.0m, E-W 17.0m. Grass-covered and with no visible ditch. More likely to be a misshapen or mutilated 'round' barrow than a true Long Barrow. <4>

No change. Published 1:2500 survey revised. A Middle Bronze Age collared urn was found in 1958 during trenching for a telegraph cable, which skirted this barrow and that adjacent on its east side. It therefore almost certainly came from one of them. In Red House Museum. (5)

Barrow 4 (St George Gray Barrow B) an oval mound which was originally a round barrow, excavated by St George Gray in 1919. No burials or pottery were recovered. Worked flint including a scraper were recovered. The urn recovered from the telephone cable is now thought to be a secondary burial from this barrow. The urn is of Longworth's Primary Series, Form Bi. <6>

A probable round barrow surviving as a mutilated elongated mound about 22m by 17m, which is bisected by a road. It is grass covered with no visible sign of a ditch. It was excavated by St George Gray in 1919 (Mound B). No burials or pottery were recovered. 191 flints were recovered from the buried ground surface and base of the barrow. (1)(2)

The possible remains of the barrow are visible as earthworks on aerial photographs of 1945 <9-10>. A sub-oval mound and two short lengths of bank are visible over an area measuring 23 m by 13 m. The site is not visible on the most recent comprehensive aerial imagery available to the project. <11> This site was digitally plotted during the South West rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey (Dorset).

<1> Bushe-Fox, J P, 1915, Excavations at Hengistbury Head, Hampshire in 1911-12, 14 No 3 (Monograph). SWX7422.

<2> Ordnance Survey, Ordnance Survey Map 6in, 1931 (Map). SWX1540.

(SZ 16699106) (One of a group of 3) Tumuli (NR)

<3> Calkin, J B, Annotated Record Map Corr 6, 1949 (Map). SWX8214.

<4> Quinnell, N V, Various, Field Investigators Comments NVQ, F1 NVQ 15-JUL-54 (Unpublished document). SDO11903.

<5> Calkin, J B, 1962, The Bournemouth Area in the Middle and Late Bronze Age, with the 'Deverel Rimbury' problem reconsidered, p9 (Article in serial). SWX3709.

<6> Aldsworth, F G, Various, Field Investigators Comments FGA, F2 FGA 19-MAR-69 (Unpublished document). SWX1161.

<6.1> Lavender, J, Oral information, correspondence (not archived) or staff comments: J H Lavender, Curator Red House Museum Christchurch (Verbal communication). SWX8348.

<7> Longworth, I H, 1984, Collared Urns of the Bronze Age in Great Britain and Ireland, pl. 25c, Illus. 41, P119 (Monograph). SWX9167.

<8> Cunliffe, B, 1987, Hengistbury Head, Dorset. 1: The Prehistoric and Roman Settlement, 3500BC- AD500, Excavations at Crouch Hill, 1921, 1969. in Oxford University Committee for Archaeology monograph series Vol no.13 Page(s) 40-7, pgs 48-49 (Monograph). SWX4038.

<9> Royal Air Force, 30-OCT-1945, RAF 106G/T16/PART II 7129-30 (Aerial Photograph). SDO12743.

<10> Royal Air Force, 30-OCT-1945, RAF 106G/T16/PART II 7131-32 (Aerial Photograph). SDO12720.

<11> XX-XXX-2009, Google Earth (Aerial Photograph). SDO12705.

<12> National Record of the Historic Environment, 458716 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Dec 23 2024 3:41PM