Disc barrow 200m north east of Winterbourne Poor Lot, forming part of the Poor Lot 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.

The Poor Lot cemetery survives well as one of very few examples in Dorset known to exhibit such a wide range of different forms of round barrow, including some of the rare barrow types, such as disc and pond barrows. The core of the cemetery is unusually situated within a valley bottom. The disc barrow 200m north east of Winterbourne Poor Lot is an outstanding example of its class.

Details

The monument includes a disc barrow situated within the South Dorset Downs on a south facing slope of the South Winterbourne valley. It forms one of 44 barrows known within the Poor Lot round barrow cemetery, the core of which is situated on the opposing hillside to the south. The barrow has a central mound composed of chalk, earth and flint with maximum dimensions of 23m in diameter and c.1m high. This is surrounded by a berm or gently sloping platform 6m wide and a ditch from which material was quarried during the construction of the monument. The ditch is no longer visible at ground level, as it has become infilled over the years, but is known from a survey conducted during the 1950's to be 6m wide. It will survive as a buried feature. Surrounding the ditch is an outer bank composed of flint, chalk and earth with maximum dimensions of 6m in width and c.0.5m in height.

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:

22943

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset: Volume I, (1970), 463
Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset: Volume I, (1970), 463

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