Two bowl barrows c.280m north-east of Chaldon Herring: part of a barrow group north of Chaldon Herring village

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.

The bowl barrows north-east of Chaldon Herring have survived well despite having a rounded profile due to ploughing in the past, and remain essentially intact. They will contain archaeological remains and environmental evidence relating to the monument and the landscape in which it was constructed. The barrows form part of a wider group surviving locally, and, as such, add to an understanding of Bronze Age settlement in the area. The barrows are unusual in that they were constructed on a substantial lynchet, or field bank.

Details

The monument includes two bowl barrows aligned NE-SW on a low ridge in the valley below High Chaldon. The south-western mound is 2lm in diameter and 0.75m high and the north- eastern mound l8m in diameter and l.25m high. Each of the barrow mounds is surrounded by a ditch from which material was quarried during the construction of the monument. Although no longer visible at ground level, having become infilled over the years, these ditches survive as buried features c.4m wide. The barrows are situated on a lynchet or field bank which survives up to 2m high and which continues to the west to run beneath the other two barrows which make up this group. The eastern mound has a telegraph pole on its south-east edge. This telegraph pole and its supports are excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath it is included. The mound ends at a post and wire fence which is excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath 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:

21912

Legacy System:

RSM

End of official list entry

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