Two bowl barrows on Waltham Down, 115m east of crossroads: part of Waltham Down 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 of one of the mounds and some tree root damage, the two bowl barrows on Waltham Down survive comparatively well and contains archaeological remains and environmental evidence relating to the monument and the landscape in which it was constructed.

Details

The monument includes two bowl barrows situated on the crest of a chalk ridge running west from Waltham Down, forming part of Waltham Down round barrow cemetery. This is a linear cemetery consisting of 5 bowl barrows spread over a distance of 350m. The most westerly of the barrows here has a central mound 14m in diameter and 1.2m high. The mound of the next barrow 20m to the east is 24m in diameter, 1.2m high and has a central hollow suggesting that the barrow was once partially excavated. Surrounding both mounds are ditches from which material was quarried during the construction of the monument. These have become infilled over the years and are no longer visible at ground level but survive as buried features 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:

20060

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

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

Other
Gilyard-Beer, R, AM7, (1960)
Ordnance Survey, SU 91 SW 1, (1971)
Ordnance Survey, SU 91 SW 1B, (1971)

End of official list entry

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