Reasons for Designation
Platform barrows, funerary monuments dating to the Bronze Age (1400 - 700bc),
are the rarest of the recognised types of round barrow, with fewer than 50
examples recorded nationally. They occur widely across southern England with
a marked concentration in East and West Sussex and can occur either in barrow
cemeteries (closely-spaced groups of barrows) or singly. They were
constructed as low, flat-topped mounds of earth surrounded by a shallow ditch,
occasionally crossed by an entrance causeway. None of the known examples
stands higher then 1m above ground level, and most are considerably lower than
this. Due to their comparative visual insignificance when compared to the
larger types of round barrow, few were explored by 19th century antiquarians.
As a result, few platform barrows are disturbed by excavation and,
consequently, they remain a poorly understood class of monument. Their
importance lies in their potential for illustrating the diversity of beliefs
and burial practices in the Bronze Age and, due to their extreme rarity and
considerable fragility, all identified platform barrows would normally be
considered to be of national importance.
In spite of the damage to the monument caused by antiquarian excavators, it
survives sufficiently well to provide the best example of its type in the
region and still retains considerable archaeological potential since the old
ground surface and the surrounding ditch survive essentially undisturbed.
Details
The monument, a platform barrow dating from the Bronze Age, is situated on the
crest of the saddle between Wilmington Hill and Windover Hill and is visible
on the skyline from the north. The most prominent feature of the monument is
the low, flat-topped, circular mound of earth but also included is the
encircling ditch which is now largely infilled but which is detectable on the
E and SE sides.
The monument measure 13m in diameter, of which the outer 1m on each side is
the infilled ditch. The central raised platform attains a maximum height of
40-50cm and is slightly dished at its centre, suggesting that excavation has
taken place in the past.
The post-and-wire fencing which crosses the monument on its northern side is
excluded from the scheduling.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
12799
Legacy System:
RSM
Sources
Other
Legal
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.
End of official list entry
