Bowl barrow 160m south of Beehive Plantation

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 some disturbance caused by animal burrowing and scrub growth, the bowl barrow 160m south of Beehive Plantation survives well and contains archaeological remains and environmental evidence relating both to the monument and the landscape in which it was constructed.

Details

The monument includes a bowl barrow situated on the crest of a ridge in an area of chalk downland. The barrow comprises a mound 14m in diameter and 1m high with a surrounding ditch from which material was quarried during the construction of the monument. This is no longer visible at ground level having become infilled over the years but survives as a buried feature 2.5m 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:

20137

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Grinsell, L V, Sussex Archaeological Collections in Sussex Barrows (Volume 75), Vol. 75, (1934), 274

Other
Ordnance Survey, TQ 50 SE 21, (1973)

End of official list entry

All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.

Print the official list entry