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.
