Bowl barrow at Round Barrow House

Overview

Location

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 bowl barrow at Round Barrow House survives comparatively well and is known to have contained an unusually large number of burial remains. Environmental evidence as well as archaeological remains survive within the barrow relating to both the monument and the landscape in which it was constructed.

Details

The monument includes a bowl barrow, with a mound 1.2m high and 22m across, situated on the crest of a slight ridge of sands and gravels. Surrounding the mound is a ditch from which material was quarried during the construction of the monument. This is no longer visible at ground level, having become infilled over the years, but survives as a buried feature c.3m wide. The barrow was first discovered when the adjacent golf course was under construction and was partially excavated in 1901. Twenty-five cremation burials dating to the Late Bronze Age were found, all but two of which were in pottery vessels. Although the barrow is very close to Round Barrow House, no part of the house above or below ground is included in the area of the scheduling. Excluded from the scheduling are the stone edging, gravel path surfaces and electric lights although the ground beneath all these features is included.

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:

23004

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Gardner, E, 'Surrey Archaeological Collection' in Surrey Archaeological Collection, , Vol. 35, (1924)
Grinsell, L V, 'Surrey Archaeological Collections' in Surrey Barrows 1934-1987: A Reappraisal, , Vol. 79, (1987)

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.