Monument record MWX678 - Bowl Barrow, one of the Worgret Heath Group, Arne

Bronze Age bowl barrow recorded as being around 40 feet in diameter with a mound about 4 feet high. This barrow was totally excavated in 1964 by Dr G J Wainwright, who found burnt deposits in bits, but no trace of bones, and above them an upright biconical urn and an inverted bucket urn.

A circular mound, approximately 15m in diameter surrounded by a 1.5m wide outer ditch, is visible as an earthwork on aerial photographs of Worgret Hill, Arne <7-8>. It is one of a group of dispersed barrows which make up the Worgret Heath group. This feature was digitally plotted during the Wild Purbeck Mapping Project.

Wainwright, G J, 1965, The Excavation of a round barrow on Worgret Hill, Arne, Dorset. Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 119-125 (Article in serial). SWX832.

<1> Ordnance Survey, Various, Ordnance Survey Map 6in. Prov. Ed (Map). SWX2257.

(A-SY 90118720; B-SY 90028707) Tumuli (NR) (two shown)

<2> Grimes, W F, 1948, Annotated Record Map Corr. 6 (W F Grimes 24 2 48) (Map). SWX2932.

(A) Dimensions: Diameter 14 yards. Height 6ft. Flat topped. Disturbed but not excavated. (B). Dimensions: Diameter. 21 yards. Height 5' 6", irregular but disturbed.

<3> Quinnell, N V, Various, Field Investigators Comments NVQ, F1 NVQ 29-JUL-52 (Unpublished document). SDO11903.

Two barrows lettered 'A' & 'B', both bracken covered. 'A'. Diameter 13.0m. Height 2.0m. No sign of berm or ditch. Mutilated on top by rabbits. No surface finds. A bowl barrow. 'B' Diameter 18.0m. Height 1.9m. No trace of berm or ditch, or of excavation. A bowl barrow.

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

‘(29) Ditched bowl (90028707). Totally excavated 1964 by Dr. G. J. Wainwright for the Ministry of Public Building and Works. Diam. 40 ft., ht. 4 ft., surrounded by a ditch 10 ft. wide. Near the centre of the mound were a biconical urn and a bucket urn but no burial (Dorset Procs. LXXXVII (1965), 119).’

<5> Grinsell, L V, 1982, Dorset Barrows Supplement, p15, 32 (Monograph). SWX1703.

‘Add: excav. G J. Wainwright, 1964: primary (?) burnt deposit, but no burnt bones, in central pit; immediately above, an upright biconical urn with applied cordon beneath rim. To S was another pit, containing an inverted bucket urn with lugs. No burnt bones were found with either urn. The deposits were enclosed and covered by a mound of turves. C14 date: Table A. Wainwright, 1966.’

<6> DCMS, 1999, Scheduled Monument Notification 1999, 04-FEB-1999 (Scheduling record). SDO17351.

Two C-14 dates have been obtained from barrow 'B': The primary cremation gave a date of 1740 +- 90 BC (NPL-199). The cremation from the bucket-urn in pit II gave a date of 1380 +- 90 BC (NPL-74).

<7> Royal Air Force, 14-MAR-1945, RAF 106G/LA/194 236-38 (Aerial Photograph). SDO13435.

<8> Royal Air Force, 04-NOV-1946, RAF/CPE/UK/1821 6407 (Aerial Photograph). SDO13439.

<9> National Record of the Historic Environment, 456651 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Dec 7 2024 8:18AM