Bowl barrow 20m south of Flanchford Road: part of Reigate Heath round barrow cemetery

Reasons for Designation

Round barrow cemeteries date to the Bronze Age (c.2000-700 BC). They comprise closely-spaced groups of up to 30 round barrows - rubble or earthen mounds covering single or multiple burials. Most cemeteries developed over a considerable period of time, often many centuries, and in some cases acted as a focus for burials as late as the early medieval period. They exhibit considerable diversity of burial rite, plan and form, frequently including several different types of round barrow, occasionally associated with earlier long barrows. Where large scale investigation has been undertaken around them, contemporary or later "flat" burials between the barrow mounds have often been revealed. Round barrow cemeteries occur across most of lowland Britain, with a marked concentration in Wessex. In some cases, they are clustered around other important contemporary monuments such as henges. Often occupying prominent locations, they are a major historic element in the modern landscape, whilst their diversity and their longevity as a monument type provide important information on the variety of beliefs and social organisation amongst early prehistoric communities. They are particularly representative of their period and a substantial proportion of surviving or partly-surviving examples are considered worthy of protection.

Despite the possibility of partial excavation, the bowl barrow 20m south of Flanchford Road is an integral part of the Reigate Heath round barrow cemetery and contains archaeological remains and environmental evidence relating to both the monument and the landscape in which it was constructed.

Details

The monument includes one of seven bowl barrows situated on the crest of a slight ridge of Greensand and forming part of a dispersed linear round barrow cemetery aligned north-west to south-east on Reigate Heath. The barrow has a small flat topped mound 15m in diameter and 0.4m high with a slight central hollow suggesting that the barrow was once partially excavated. There has been some disturbance to the northern edge of the mound resulting in its uneven shape. Surrounding the mound is a ditch from which material was quarried during the construction of the monument. No longer visible at ground level the ditch has become infilled over the years but survives as a buried feature 2m wide. This could be one of the four barrows on Reigate Heath partially excavated in 1809 before the planting of pine trees. In two of the mounds burnt bones were found and in the largest barrow a circular hole 0.5m in diameter and 0.4m deep containing ashes and charred wood was discovered cut into the natural rock beneath the mound. Three of the pine trees planted on the mound survive.

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:

20165

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Grinsell, L V, Surrey Archaeological Collections in Surrey Barrows 1934-1987: A Reappraisal, Vol. 79, (1987)

End of official list entry

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