Fancy barrow on Race Plain

Reasons for Designation

Saucer barrows are funerary monuments of the Early Bronze Age, most examples dating to between 1800 and l200 BC. They occur either in isolation or in barrow cemeteries (closely-spaced groups of round barrows). They were constructed as a circular area of level ground defined by a bank and internal ditch and largely occupied by a single low, squat mound covering one or more burials, usually in a pit. The burials, either inhumations or cremations, are sometimes accompanied by pottery vessels, tools and personal ornaments. Saucer barrows are one of the rarest recognised forms of round barrow, with about 60 known examples nationally, most of which are in Wessex. The presence of grave goods within the barrows provides important evidence for chronological and cultural links amongst prehistoric communities over a wide area of southern England as well as providing an insight into their beliefs and social organisation. As a rare and fragile form of round barrow, all identified saucer barrows would normally be considered to be of national importance.

Despite evidence for partial excavation, the fancy barrow on Race Plain survives in a particularly fine condition within 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 fancy barrow situated on the brow of a west facing slope overlooking Milking Pound Bottom. The barrow mound measures 13m in diameter and stands up to 1.2m high. A slight hollow in the centre of the mound suggests robbing or partial excavation. Surrounding the mound is a level platform, surviving to an average width of 3.5m, a ditch from which material was quarried during the construction of the barrow and an outer bank. The ditch has become partly infilled over the years, but survives as a slight earthwork 3.4m wide and 0.5m deep; the bank is 5m wide and 0.3m high. The overall diameter of this barrow is 36.8m. The road surface is excluded from the scheduling but 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:

20331

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Other
Hampshire County Planning Department, SZ39NW20,

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