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Bowl barrow 200m east of Penmead Copse: one of a group of four bowl barrows on Witley Common

Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places

Overview

Heritage Category:: Scheduled Monument
List Entry Number:: 1009504
Date first listed:: 21-Sep-1992

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Official list entry

Heritage Category:: Scheduled Monument
List Entry Number:: 1009504
Date first listed:: 21-Sep-1992

Location

The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.

County:: Surrey
District:: Waverley (District Authority)
Parish:: Witley
National Grid Reference:: SU 92179 40123

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 evidence of partial excavation the bowl barrow on Witley Common 200m east of Penmead Copse survives comparatively well and contains archaeological remains and environmental evidence relating to the monument and the landscape in which it was constructed. As one of a group of four closely spaced bowl barrows, it contributes to a valuable insight into the nature and scale of human occupation in the area during the Bronze Age period.

Details

The monument includes a bowl barrow situated on a slight north-facing rise in the Lower Greensand within 50m of two other bowl barrows. The barrow has a mound 28m in diameter by 1.8m high which has been partly disturbed by an L-shaped trench cut into it. This most probably results from partial excavation or army use, although no details are known. Surrounding the mound is a ditch from which material was quarried during the construction of the monument. This is no longer visible from ground level having 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:: 20153
Legacy System:: RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Grinsell, L V, 'Surrey Archaeological Collections' in An Analysis And List Of Surrey Barrows, , Vol. 42, (1934), 60
Grinsell, L V, 'Surrey Archaeological Collections' in Surrey Barrows 1934-1987: A Reappraisal, , Vol. 79, (1987), 37

Legal

This monument is scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 as amended as it appears to the Secretary of State to be of national importance. This entry is a copy, the original is held by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.