Bell barrow at Shirley Holms, 710m east-north-east of Little Purley Farm

Reasons for Designation

Bell barrows, the most visually impressive form of round barrow, are funerary monuments dating to the Early and Middle Bronze Age, with most examples belonging to the period 1500-1100 BC. They occur either in isolation or in round barrow cemeteries and were constructed as single or multiple mounds covering burials, often in pits, and surrounded by an enclosure ditch. The burials are frequently accompanied by weapons, personal ornaments and pottery and appear to be those of aristocratic individuals, usually men. Bell barrows (particularly multiple barrows) are rare nationally, with less than 250 known examples, most of which are in Wessex. Their richness in terms of grave goods provides evidence for chronological and cultural links amongst early prehistoric communities over most of southern and eastern England as well as providing an insight into their beliefs and social organisation. As a particularly rare form of round barrow, all identified bell barrows would normally be considered to be of national importance.

Despite evidence for partial excavation, the bell barrow at Shirley Holms, 710m east-north-east of Little Purley Farm, survives comparatively well as part of a small cluster of round barrows in the New Forest, an area known to have been important in terms of lowland Bronze Age occupation. A considerable amount of archaeological evidence has survived in this area because of a lack of agricultural activity, the result of later climatic deterioration, development of heath and the establishment of a Royal Forest.

Details

This monument includes a bell barrow situated on the brow of an east facing slope overlooking Milking Pound Bottom. The barrow mound measures 32m in diameter and stands up to 3m high. Several hollows in the centre of the mound suggest robbing or partial excavation. Surrounding the mound is a level platform, surviving to an average width of 4.5m and a ditch, from which material was quarried during the construction of the barrow. The ditch has become partly infilled over the years, but survives as a slight earthwork 4.5m wide and 0.9m deep. The overall diameter of the barrow is 51m.

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:

20329

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Grinsell, L V, Proceedings of the Hampshire Field Club in Hampshire Barrows, Vol. 14, (1938), 213

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