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Three confluent bowl barrows 340m ESE of Freshwater Bay Golf Clubhouse: part of a round barrow cemetery on Afton Down

Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places

Overview

Heritage Category:: Scheduled Monument
List Entry Number:: 1007793
Date first listed:: 17-Jul-1994

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Official list entry

Heritage Category:: Scheduled Monument
List Entry Number:: 1007793
Date first listed:: 17-Jul-1994

Location

The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.

District:: Isle of Wight (Unitary Authority)
Parish:: Freshwater
National Grid Reference:: SZ 35532 85743

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.

Despite at least one of the barrows being partially excavated, each of the three confluent bowl barrows on Afton Down will contain archaeological remains and environmental evidence relating to the barrow cemetery and the landscape in which it was constructed. Three small confluent barrows are a relatively rare occurrence, and this is enhanced by the fact that they form part of a round barrow cemetery.

Details

The monument includes three confluent bowl barrows situated on a west facing hillside overlooking the coastline on the south western part of the Isle of Wight. Each of the confluent barrows has a mound with a width south east-north west of 7.5m, 7m and 5m respectively. The width of the mounds north east-south west ranges from 9.8m to 7.5m. All three mounds are c.0.5m high. Surrounding each mound is a ditch from which material was quarried during its construction. These have become infilled over the years and can no longer be seen at ground level, but survive as buried features c.2m wide. The middle barrow of the three displays evidence of antiquarian excavation, and at least one of the barrows was partially excavated by the Rev J Skinner in the 19th century who found parts of urns and burnt bones.

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:: 22000
Legacy System:: RSM

Sources

Books and journals
'Proceeding of the I.O.W. Nat History and Archaeological Soc' in Proceedings of the I.O.W. Nat History and Archaeological Society, , Vol. 1, (1929), 656
'Proceedings of the I.O.W. Nat History and Archaeological Soc' in Proceedings of the I.O.W. Nat History and Archaeological Society, , Vol. 3, (1940), 195-7
Other
Add. Mss. BM 33650, 33652, (1817)
Skinner, Rev. J., Add. Mss. BM 33650, 33652, (1817)

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 Culture, Media and Sport.