Three round barrows E of Caburn Bottom

Summary

A bowl-barrow and two ring barrows near Speaker’s Holt, 818m ENE of Pidgeon House.

Reasons for Designation

Round barrows are funerary monuments dating from the Late Neolithic period to the Late Bronze Age, with most examples belonging to the period 2400-1500 BC. They were constructed as earthen mounds, sometimes ditched, which covered single or multiple burials. They occur either in isolation or grouped as cemeteries and often acted as a focus of burials in later periods. Often superficially similar, although differing widely in size, they exhibit regional variations in form and a diversity of burial practices. The bowl barrow and two ring barrows near Speaker’s Holt are two types of round barrow. There are over 10,000 surviving examples recorded nationally (many more have already been destroyed). Often occupying prominent locations, they are a major historic element in the modern landscape and their considerable variation in form and longevity as a monument type provide important information on the diversity of beliefs and social organisations amongst early prehistoric communities. They are particularly representative of their period and a substantial proportion of surviving examples are considered worthy of protection.

Although levelled by ploughing the two ring barrows near Speaker’s Holt survive as buried features, which with the mound of the bowl barrow, 350m SSE, will contain archaeological information and environmental evidence relating to the barrows and the landscape in which they were constructed.

History

See Details.

Details

This record was the subject of a minor enhancement on 3 March 2015. This record has been generated from an "old county number" (OCN) scheduling record. These are monuments that were not reviewed under the Monuments Protection Programme and are some of our oldest designation records.

The monument includes a bowl barrow and two ring barrows surviving as earthworks or buried archaeological features. They are situated near the summit of a hill overlooking Caburn Bottom to the west, on the South Downs west of Glynde. The two ring barrows, nearest the summit of the hill, have been levelled by ploughing and survive as buried archaeological features. When seen in 1984 they were formed of a disc about 0.3m high surrounded by an outer ditch but with no central mound. The eastern ring barrow is 73m wide and the western barrow 84m wide. The bowl barrow is 350m SSE of the ring barrows. It survives as an earthwork formed of a roughly circular-shaped mound 10m in diameter and 0.5m high. A slight depression in the centre is thought to be the result of a partial excavation in 1819.

The area near the ring barrows was subject to partial excavation in 1819, 1922 and geophysical survey in 1994. Several cinerary urns and incense cups found north of Mount Caburn are associated with, and may have been discovered at, the site of the three round barrows. Additionally, a considerable quantity of Bronze Age, Iron Age, Romano-British and Medieval pottery sherds have been found in the vicinity.

Further archaeological remains, including round barrows, survive in the vicinity of this monument but are not included because they have not been formally assessed.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

ES 313

Legacy System:

RSM - OCN

Sources

Other
NMR TQ40NW10, TQ40NW15, TQ40NW14, TQ40NW80. PastScape 405867, 405882, 405881, 618807.

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