Bowl barrow on Waltham Down, 320 ESE 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, the bowl barrow on Waltham Down 320m ESE of the crossroads, survives comparatively well and contains archaeological remains and environmental evidence relating both to the monument and to the landscape in which it was constructed.

Details

The monument includes a bowl barrow situated on the crest of a chalk ridge running west from Waltham Down. The barrow forms part of a linear round barrow cemetery consisting of five bowl barrows spread over a distance of 350m. The barrow mound survives as an earthwork 17.5m in diameter and 0.6m high, a shallow hollow in the centre suggests that it was once partially excavated. 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 now 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:

20062

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

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

Other
Ordnance Survey, SU 91 SW 2A, (1970)

End of official list entry

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