Bowl barrow 240m south of Oak Tree Farm: an outlying barrow of the Coombe Beacon barrow cemetery

Overview

Location

Reasons for Designation

Round barrow cemeteries date to the Bronze Age (c.2000-700 BC). They comprise closely-spaced groups of up to 30 round barrows - rubble or earthen mounds covering single or multiple burials. Most cemeteries developed over a considerable period of time, often many centuries, and in some cases acted as a focus for burials as late as the early medieval period. They exhibit considerable diversity of burial rite, plan and form, frequently including several different types of round barrow, occasionally associated with earlier long barrows. Where large scale investigation has been undertaken around them, contemporary or later "flat" burials between the barrow mounds have often been revealed. Round barrow cemeteries occur across most of lowland Britain, with a marked concentration in Wessex. In some cases, they are clustered around other important contemporary monuments such as henges. Often occupying prominent locations, they are a major historic element in the modern landscape, whilst their diversity and their longevity as a monument type provide important information on the variety of beliefs and social organisation amongst early prehistoric communities. They are particularly representative of their period and a substantial proportion of surviving or partly-surviving examples are considered worthy of protection.

The bowl barrow on Coombe Heath, forming an outlier of the Coombe Beacon barrow cemetery, has survived well and contains archaeological remains and environmental evidence relating to the monument and the landscape in which it was constructed. This barrow is amongst a number which survive on the piece of heathland between the River Frome and the Dorset coast.

Details

The monument includes a bowl barrow situated on lowland heath close to the Dorset coast, forming part of the Coombe Beacon round barrow cemetery. The barrow mound is 0.2m high and 7m in diameter. Surrounding the mound is a ditch from which material was quarried during the construction of the monument. This has become partly infilled over the years, but can still be seen as a slight depression on the west side of the mound 0.1m deep and 1m wide.

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:

21920

Legacy System:

RSM

Legal

This monument is scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 as amended as it appears to the Secretary of State to be of national importance. This entry is a copy, the original is held by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.