Bell barrow and five bowl barrows 1000m south east of Kingston Russell Farm, part of the Black 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 some damage by ploughing, the barrows 1000m south east of Kingston Russell Farm survive well. All will contain archaeological and environmental evidence relating to the monument and the landscape in which it was constructed.

Details

The monument includes a bell barrow and five bowl barrows forming part of a round barrow cemetery situated on Black Down, a gentle, north facing chalk slope in an area of the South Dorset Downs. The bell barrow has a mound composed of chalk, earth and flints with a maximum diameter of 30m and a maximum height of c.3m. This is surrounded by a berm or gently sloping platform which is visible as an earthwork 5m wide around the periphery of the mound. Surrounding the berm is a ditch from which material was quarried during the construction of the monument. This remains visible as an earthwork 3m wide on the northern and southern sides of the monument. Elsewhere, the ditch is no longer visible at ground level as it has become infilled over the years, but it will survive as a buried feature. The western bowl barrow is situated 12m to the north west of the bell barrow and it has a mound composed of flint, earth and chalk, with a maximum diameter of 23m and a maximum height of c.0.5m. This is surrounded by a ditch from which material was quarried during the construction of the monument. This is no longer visible at ground level as it has become infilled over the years, but it will survive as a buried feature c.2m wide. The four eastern bowl barrows were identified in 1952 and confirmed by L V Grinsell in 1959. The barrows are broadly orientated north-south and, prior to 1960, had mounds 8m-10m in diameter and c.0.3m-0.45m high. The mounds are no longer visible at ground level, as they have been spread by ploughing. The underlying deposits and the ditches which surround the mounds will, however, survive intact.

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:

22932

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Royal Commission on Historical Monuments, , An Inventory of the Historic Monuments of Dorset, (1959), 129
An Inventory of the Historical Monuments of Dorset: Volume 1 , (1952), 129
An Inventory of the Historical Monuments of Dorset: Volume 1 , (1952), 129
An Inventory of the Historical Monuments of Dorset: Volume 1 , (1952), 129
Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset: Volume I, (1970), 461-3
Grinsell, L V, Procs Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Soc. in Dorset Barrows, (1959), 164
Grinsell, L V, Procs Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Soc. in Dorset Barrows, (1959), 116

End of official list entry

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