Reasons for Designation
A small number of areas in southern England appear to have acted as foci for
ceremonial and ritual activity during the Neolithic and Bronze Age periods.
Two of the best known and earliest recognised areas are around Avebury and
Stonehenge, now jointly designated as a World Heritage Site.
The area of chalk downland which surrounds Stonehenge contains one of the
densest and most varied groups of Neolithic and Bronze Age field monuments in
Britain. Included within the area are Stonehenge itself, the Stonehenge
cursus, the Durrington Walls henge, and a variety of burial monuments, many
grouped into cemeteries.
The area has been the subject of archaeological research since the 18th
century when Stukeley recorded many of the monuments and partially excavated a
number of the burial mounds. More recently, the collection of artefacts from
the surfaces of ploughed fields has supplemented the evidence for ritual and
burial by revealing the intensity of contemporary settlement and land-use. In
view of the importance of the area, all ceremonial and sepulchral monuments of
this period which retain significant archaeological remains are identified as
nationally important.
Round barrow cemeteries date to the Bronze Age (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 and occasionally associated with
earlier long barrows. Where investigation beyond the round barrows has
occurred, contemporary or later 'flat' burials between the barrow mounds have
often been revealed. Round barrow cemeteries occur across most of lowland
England with a marked concentration in Wessex. In some cases they are
clustered around other important contemporary monuments, as is the case both
here and at Avebury. Often occupying prominent positions, they are a major
historic element in the modern landscape, while their diversity and their
longevity as a monument type provide important information on the variety of
beliefs and social organisation amongst early prehistoric communities.
Bowl barrows, the most numerous form of round barrow, are funerary monuments
dating from the Late Neolithic period to the Late Bronze Age. They were
constructed as earthen or rubble mounds, normally ditched, which covered
single or multiple burials. Often superficially similar, although differing
widely in size, they exhibit regional variations in form and a variety of
burial practices. The burials, either inhumations or cremations, are sometimes
accompanied by pottery vessels, tools and personal ornaments. There
are over 10,000 surviving bowl barrows recorded nationally and at least 320 in
the Stonehenge area.
Despite disturbance to its mound, the bowl barrow barrow 300m WSW of
Stonehenge is known from partial excavation and geophysical survey to contain
archaeological remains and environmental evidence relating to the monument and
the landscape in which it was constructed.
Details
The monument includes a bowl barrow situated 300m WSW of Stonehenge, forming
part of a round barrow cemetery on Stonehenge Down. It is situated on an
east facing slope with views across Stonehenge towards New King Barrows. The
Stonehenge Down barrow cemetery contains eight round barrows in all, including
six bowl barrows, an oval bowl barrow and a disc barrow.
The barrow mound has been disturbed, possibly by the construction of the track
which is located to the west of it, but is visible as a slight earthwork of
irregular shape c.0.2m high. It is represented on the Ordnance Survey County
Series 25 inch map of 1901, from which it is calculated to have an overall
diameter of 30m, including a ditch c.3m wide which surrounds it and from which
material was quarried during its construction. The ditch is now difficult to
identify on the ground, possibly as a result of the disturbance to the mound.
Partial excavation in the 19th century revealed a primary cremation in a cist
with a dagger, an awl and a piece of blue stone. Two secondary skeletons with
antler and sarsen chips were also recovered.
This barrow has recently been the subject of a geophysical survey which
confirmed the survival of archaeological remains.
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.
