Duncton Common 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 evidence of partial excavation, Duncton Common round barrow cemetery survives well and has potential for the recovery of archaeological remains and environmental evidence relating to the landscape in which it was constructed.

Details

The monument includes a linear barrow cemetery orientated east-west which consists of ten bowl barrows stretched out in a line over 200m long. The cemetery is situated on a ridge in the Lower Greensand north of the South Downs. All of the barrows survive as earthwork features and have mounds which vary in size from 10m to 24m in diameter and are between 0.6m and 1.6m high. The most westerly of the bowl barrows (SU 96021874) has a central barrow mound which measures 13m in diameter and stands at a height of 1.2m. Surrounding the mound is a ditch from which material was quarried during the construction of the monument. This has become infilled over the years and is no longer visible at ground level but survives as a buried feature c.3m wide. In the centre of the mound is a hollow which suggests that the mound was once partially excavated. The second barrow (SU 96041873), 15m to the south-east, consists of a mound which measures 12m in diameter and 0.7m high. The surrounding quarry ditch, as with all the barrows in the cemetery, is no longer visible but survives as a buried feature, in this case c.3m wide. The third barrow (SU 96061872) has one of the two largest mounds in the cemetery and survives to a height of 1.6m with a diameter of 22m. The surrounding ditch is c.3m wide. The central mound of the fourth barrow (SU 96071873) measures 16m in diameter and 1.4m high around which the quarry ditch survives as a buried feature c.3m wide. The north-western quadrant of the mound shows evidence of disturbance which suggests that this area of the mound was once partially excavated. The fifth barrow (SU 96101874) has a mound which measures 15m in diameter and 1.5m high with a ditch c.3m wide. The sixth barrow (SU 96121874) has a mound surviving to a height of 1.3m and is 16m in diameter with a buried surrounding quarry ditch c.3m wide. The seventh barrow (SU 96141875) has a barrow mound which is 20m in diameter and stands at a height of 1.3m. The surrounding ditch is c.3m wide. There is a disturbance in the east side of the mound which suggests that it was once partially excavated. The eighth barrow (SU 96181876) is the smallest in the cemetery and survives as a mound 0.6m high and 10m in diameter, with a ditch c.1m wide. The ninth barrow (SU 96191876) has a mound the same size as the third and is one of the two largest barrows in the cemetery. The mound measures 22m in diameter and stands at a height of 1.6m, with a ditch c.3m wide. The tenth and most easterly barrow in the cemetery (SU 96211875) has a mound which measures 17m in diameter and stands at a height of 1.3m there is some slight disturbance on the south side of the mound which suggests that this barrow was also once partially excavated. The surrounding quarry ditch is c.3m wide. Excluded from the scheduling are all fences and fence posts although the ground beneath them 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:

20031

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Grinsell, L V, Sussex Archaeological Collections in Sussex Barrows, (1934)
Grinsell, L V, Sussex Archaeological Collections in Sussex Barrows, (1934)

Other
Coad, V.J., AM107, (1985)

End of official list entry

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