Heathy Brow round barrows

Summary

Two Bowl Barrows on Heathy Brow, 855m west of Breaky Bottom Farm.

Reasons for Designation

Bowl barrows, the most numerous form of round barrow, 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 or rubble mounds, sometimes ditched, which covered single or multiple burials. They occur either in isolation or grouped as cemeteries and often acted as a focus for burials in later periods. Often occupying prominent locations, they are a major historic element in the modern landscape and their considerable variation of 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.

Despite part-levelling by cultivation, the two bowl barrows on Heathy Brow, 855m west of Breaky Bottom Farm, survive relatively well. They 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 2 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 two bowl barrows, situated on a ridge of chalk downland known as Heathy Brow in the South Downs. They been partly levelled by cultivation but survive as two broadly circular mounds with buried archaeological remains. The smaller barrow, to the north-east, is about 13m in diameter and 0.3m high. The larger barrow, 12m to the south-west, is about 17m in diameter and 0.3m high.

The smaller barrow was partially excavated in 1910, when a crouched burial was found with a small undecorated ‘B’ Beaker. In 1952, evidence for a surrounding quarry ditch belonging to the larger barrow was identified during a field investigation. The quarry ditch would have provided the material to construct the mound. This is no longer thought to be visible but is likely to survive as a buried archaeological feature.

Further archaeological remains, such as a Celtic field system, survive within 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 262

Legacy System:

RSM - OCN

Sources

Other
East Sussex HER MES1943. NMR TQ30NE45. PastScape 401883

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