Bowl barrow 150m east of Buckland Corner: 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 partial excavation and the northern edge of the monument having been cut away by road construction, the remaining portion of the bowl barrow 150m east of Bucklands Corner survives comparatively well and contains archaeological remains and environmental evidence relating to the monument and the landscape in which it was constructed. As part of a cemetery, this barrow contributes to an understanding of the nature and scale of human occupation in the area during the Bronze Age period.

Details

The monument includes one of seven bowl barrows situated on a rise in the Lower Greensand and forming a dispersed linear round barrow cemetery aligned north-west to south-east on Reigate Heath. The barrow has a mound with dimensions of 22m east-west by 17m north-south and 1.2m high, the originally circular mound having been cut away on the north side by Buckland Road. Surrounding the mound is a ditch from which material was quarried during the construction of the monument. This ditch is no longer visible at ground level, having become infilled over the years, but survives to the east, south and west of the mound as a buried feature c.3m wide. This is thought to be one of the four barrows on Reigate Heath partially excavated in 1809 prior to 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 found dug into the natural rock beneath the mound. The length of metal railings and metal fencing around trees on the mound are excluded from the scheduling although the ground beneath these features is included.

MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

20161

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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