Round barrow SW of Bopeep Bostal

Summary

Platform Barrow near Bostal Hill, 711m south-west of Bopeep Farm.

Reasons for Designation

Platform barrows, funerary monuments dating to the Bronze Age (2000-700 BC), are the rarest of the recognised types of round barrow, with fewer than 50 examples recorded nationally. They occur widely across southern England with a marked concentration in East and West Sussex and can occur either in barrow cemeteries (closely-spaced groups of barrows) or singly. They were constructed as low, flat-topped mounds of earth surrounded by a shallow ditch, occasionally crossed by an entrance causeway. None of the known examples stands higher than 1m above ground level, and most are considerably lower than this. Due to their comparative visual insignificance when compared to the larger types of round barrow, few were explored by 19th century antiquarians. As a result, few platform barrows are disturbed by excavation and, consequently, they remain a poorly understood class of monument. Their importance lies in their potential for illustrating the diversity of beliefs and burial practices in the Bronze Age and, due to their extreme rarity and considerable fragility, all identified platform barrows would normally be considered to be of national importance.

Although it has been reduced in height by agricultural activity, the platform barrow near Bostal Hill, 711m south-west of Bopeep Farm survives well and will contain archaeological information and environmental evidence relating to the barrow and the landscape in which it was constructed. The close association with broadly contemporary and later, early medieval funerary monuments to the west and east, provides evidence for the continuing importance of this area of chalk downland for burial and ceremonial practices over a period of around 3000 years.

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 platform barrow situated to the north-west of Bostal Hill along the northern escarpment of the South Downs between Lewes and Eastbourne. The location provides panoramic views of the Channel coast to the south and the Weald to the north. The barrow has been reduced in height by agricultural activity and survives as slight earthworks and buried archaeological remains. It has a slightly raised, circular level area about 15.5m in diameter and up to 0.6m above the surrounding ground, encircled by a ditch from which material used to construct the barrow was excavated. The ditch has become in-filled over the years but traces are visible around the mound.

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

ES 275

Legacy System:

RSM - OCN

Sources

Other
NMR TQ40NE34. PastScape 405780

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