Four bowl barrows on West End Common

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.

Despite partial excavation, the four contiguous bowl barrows on West End Common survive well as an outstanding example of a very rare form nationally as well as being the only example of its kind in Surrey. As one of a clearly defined group which, from the evidence of the single ditch, may have been built in a single phase, the site will contain archaeological remains and environmental evidence relating to the social organisation of Bronze Age communities in this area, their economy and the landscape in which they lived.

Details

The monument includes four contiguous bowl barrows aligned east-west and situated along the crest of a hill in the Lower Greensand. The western barrow has a mound 30m north-south, 23m east-west and 2.2m high. To the east the second and third barrows form a double mound 32m east-west and 20m north-south with each mound standing to a height of 2m. The most easterly barrow has a mound 30m north-south, 28m east-west and 2.2m high. All of the mounds have a slight hollow in the centre suggesting that they were all once partially excavated. Surrounding the mounds is a single ditch from which material was quarried during the construction of the monument. This has become partially infilled over the years but is still visible to the south of the mounds as a slight earthwork 4m wide and 0.3m deep, the rest surviving as a buried feature.

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:

20184

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Grinsell, L V, Surrey Archaeological Collections in Surrey Barrows 1934-1987: A Reappraisal, (1987), 14
Grinsell, L V, Surrey Archaeological Collections in Surrey Barrows 1934-1987: A Reappraisal, (1987), 14
Grinsell, L V, Surrey Archaeological Collections in An Analysis And List Of Surrey Barrows, Vol. 42, (1934), 39-40

End of official list entry

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