Tumulus NE of Cherkley Court, Leatherhead Downs

Summary

Bowl barrow, 132m north of The Garden House

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. There are over 10,000 surviving bowl barrows recorded nationally (many more have already been destroyed), occurring across most of lowland Britain. 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 and a substantial proportion of surviving examples are considered worthy of protection.

The Bowl barrow 132m north of The Garden House survives as buried archaeological remains and will contain important archaeological and environmental information relating to the barrow and its surrounding landscape.

History

See Details

Details

This record was the subject of a minor enhancement on 17/10/14. 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.

DESCRIPTION
The monument includes the buried archaeological remains of a bowl barrow situated on the crest of a rise in the chalk downland of the North Downs. The barrow consisted of a slightly oval mound 14.5m in diameter which stood to a height of 0.7m. Surrounding the mound was a ditch from which material was quarried during the construction of the monument. This is likely to survive as a buried feature approximately 2m wide along with the other below ground elements such as pits and buried deposits.

Further archaeological remains survive in the vicinity of this monument. Some such as a nearby Roman Road are scheduled, but others such as a field system of Iron Age or Roman date are not because they have not been formally assessed.

The barrow forms part of a group of four barrows, two of which are scheduled monuments situated to the east.

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

SU 58

Legacy System:

RSM - OCN

Sources

Other
NMR TQ15SE3. PastScape 397369.

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