Two bowl barrows 200m north of Grim's Ditch, near Tidpit Common

List Entry Summary

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.

Location

The monument may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.

Legacy System Information

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Asset Groupings

This list entry does not comprise part of an Asset Grouping. Asset Groupings are not part of the official record but are added later for information.

List entry Description

Summary of Monument

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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.

The two barrows 200m north of Grim's Ditch near Tidpit Common Down survive well as two of the numerous Bronze Age monuments constructed on Martin Down. These have recently been the subject of a detailed survey by the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England. Despite evidence of antiquarian excavation, the barrows and quarry ditches will contain archaeological and environmental evidence relating to their construction and use.

History

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Details

The monument includes two Bronze Age bowl barrows aligned east to west and situated north of Grim's Ditch where it runs west towards Bokerley Dyke from Tidpit Common Down. The barrows lie on a north facing slope within the Martin Down National Nature Reserve. The western barrow has a mound c.12m in diameter and 1.1m high. The surface of the mound is irregular and may indicate the site of antiquarian excavation, of which there are no known records. Surrounding the mound and, although obscured by scrub, visible at the west and south sides as a shallow depression c.1.5m wide and 0.1m deep, is a ditch from which material was quarried during the construction of the monument. Elsewhere the ditch has become infilled but survives as a buried feature. The second barrow lies 4m to the east. The mound is c.8m in diameter and 0.6m high. The encircling quarry ditch has become infilled over the years but survives as a buried feature 1.5m wide. A hollow in the centre of the barrow mound marks the probable site of antiquarian excavation, of which there are no known records.

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.

Selected Sources

National Grid Reference: SU 06317 18368

Map

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This copy shows the entry on 14-Aug-2018 at 09:02:08.