Six bowl barrows 550m south-west of Oak Tree Farm: part of the Coombe Beacon barrow cemetery

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 six bowl barrows on Coombe Heath form part of the Coombe Beacon barrow cemetery. They have survived well and contain archaeological remains and environmental evidence relating to the monument and the landscape in which it was constructed. These barrows are amongst a number which survive on this piece of heathland between the River Frome and the Dorset coast.

Details

The monument includes a cluster of six bowl barrows lying on lowland heath close to the Dorset coast, and forming part of the Coombe Beacon round barrow cemetery. Of the six barrows, three are quite prominent, standing to 1m high, whilst the other three are c.0.5m high. The mounds vary between 6m and 27m in diameter. Surrounding each of the mounds are ditches from which material was quarried during their construction. These can no longer be seen at ground level, having become infilled over the years, but survive as buried features ranging in width from c.1m to c.4m.

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:

21919

Legacy System:

RSM

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