Bowl barrow 200m south west of Little Watersend

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.

Despite partial disturbance caused by antiquarian excavation, the action of tree roots and rabbit burrowing, the bowl barrow 200m south west of Little Watersend survives well and contains archaeological remains and environmental evidence relating to the monument and the landscape in which it was constructed. This is the largest recorded round barrow in Kent.

Details

The monument includes a bowl barrow situated on sloping ground on a spur projecting from a ridge of the Kent Downs. The barrow has a flat-topped, west-east orientated, oval mound measuring 29m by 24.5m. The mound is large, rising to a height of 3.7m on the downslope side. Minor signs of disturbance to the centre of the mound probably result from partial excavation in the late 18th century. The mound is surrounded by a ditch from which material used to construct the barrow was excavated. This has become infilled over the years, but survives as a buried feature c.3m wide.

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:

24403

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Hasted, E, History of Kent, (1799), 37

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