Bowl barrow and pond barrow 880m south east of Kingston Russell Farm, part of the Black Down 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 ploughing, the bell barrow and pond barrow 880m south east of Kingston Russell Farm survive comparatively well and 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 pond barrow forming part of a round barrow cemetery on Black Down, a north facing chalk slope overlooking the South Winterbourne valley, in an area of the South Dorset Downs. The barrows are aligned broadly east-west. The bell barrow was recorded by L V Grinsell in 1959 when it had a central mound 12m wide and c.0.9m high, surrounded by a berm or gently sloping platform 6m wide. The monument has since been ploughed and now has a mound 28m wide and c.1m high. 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. To the west of the bell barrow is the pond barrow. This too was surveyed by L V Grinsell in 1959, when it consisted of a central depression 11m wide and c.0.3m deep. This was surrounded by an external bank 5m wide and c.0.3m high. The outer bank has since been spread by ploughing and the central depression has become largely infilled, although it remains visible as a slight depression with a maximum depth of c.0.15m.

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:

22936

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Grinsell, L V, Procs Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Soc. in Dorset Barrows, (1959), 172
Grinsell, L V, Procs Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Soc. in Dorset Barrows, (1959), 164

End of official list entry

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