Three round barrows on Puddletown Down

Summary

Three bowl barrows 710m east of Druce Higher Barn.

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 superficially similar, although differing widely in size, they exhibit regional variations in form and a diversity of burial practices. 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 reduction in the heights of the mounds through cultivation the three bowl barrows 710m east of Druce Higher Barn survive comparatively well and will contain archaeological and environmental evidence relating to their construction, relative chronologies, territorial significance, social organisation, ritual and funerary practices and overall landscape context.

History

See Details.

Details

This record was the subject of a minor enhancement on 15 February 2016. 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.

This monument, which falls into three separate areas, includes three bowl barrows arranged in a linear grouping along the summit of the prominent ridge of Puddletown Down which forms the watershed between the valleys of the River Piddle or Trent and the Devil’s Brook. The barrows survive as circular mounds surrounded by buried quarry ditches from which the construction material was derived. They vary in size from 21m up to 30m in diameter and from 0.3m up to 1.2m high and the easternmost supports a triangulation pillar which is excluded from the scheduling although the ground beneath is included.

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

DO 655

Legacy System:

RSM - OCN

Sources

Other
PastScape 454481

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