Two saucer barrows 250m west of John's Planting

Reasons for Designation

Saucer barrows are funerary monuments of the Early Bronze Age, most examples dating to between 1800 and l200 BC. They occur either in isolation or in barrow cemeteries (closely-spaced groups of round barrows). They were constructed as a circular area of level ground defined by a bank and internal ditch and largely occupied by a single low, squat mound covering one or more burials, usually in a pit. The burials, either inhumations or cremations, are sometimes accompanied by pottery vessels, tools and personal ornaments. Saucer barrows are one of the rarest recognised forms of round barrow, with about 60 known examples nationally, most of which are in Wessex. The presence of grave goods within the barrows provides important evidence for chronological and cultural links amongst prehistoric communities over a wide area of southern England as well as providing an insight into their beliefs and social organisation. As a rare and fragile form of round barrow, all identified saucer barrows would normally be considered to be of national importance.

The saucer barrows west of John's Planting are important as, despite partial excavation of the northern mound and levelling by cultivation of the entire site, parts of the monument survive intact and have potential for the recovery of archaeological remains, in particular the buried ground surface and ditch. The significance of the site is considerably enhanced both by the occurrence of two adjacent saucer barrows, a pairing which rarely occurs, and by the survival in the surrounding area of numerous other round barrows as well as additional evidence for contemporary settlement. Such evidence provides a clear indication of the extent to which the area was settled during the Bronze Age period.

Details

The monument includes two adjacent saucer barrows set below the crest of a west-facing slope in an area of undulating chalk downland. The barrows are aligned north-south and are separated by a distance of some 5m. Both have been reduced by cultivation and, as a result, only the ditches and old ground surface survive as buried features. Prior to cultivation the northern mound was recorded as having dimensions of 12m in diameter and 0.5m high, while the southern mound was 11m across and 0.7m high. Both were surrounded by a single shallow ditch from which material was quarried during the construction of the monument. Partial excavation of the northern mound by Cunnington in the 19th century produced a cremation burial and a ceramic beaker.

MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract. It includes a 2 metre boundary around the archaeological features, considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

12303

Legacy System:

RSM

End of official list entry

All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.