Bowl barrow forming part of Bratley Plain round barrow cemetery

Reasons for Designation

Round barrow cemeteries date to the Bronze Age (2000 - 700bc). 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 "f1at" 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 Bratley Plain round barrow cemetery contains a significantly large number of small undisturbed barrows and lies within the New Forest. The survival of so many small barrows within a cemetery is a particularly uncommon phenomenon in southern England. Although some of the larger mounds have been partially disturbed, all the barrows retain undisturbed remains and the cemetery as a whole has considerable archaeological potential. The New Forest region is known to have been important in terms of lowland Bronze Age occupation and a considerable amount of archaeological evidence has survived because of a lack of agricultural activity, the result of later climatic deterioration, development of heath and the establishment of a Royal Forest.

Details

This monument includes a bowl barrow forming part of a round barrow cemetery situated on lowland heath overlooking Backley Bottom. The barrow mound measures 17.5m in diameter and stands up to 2m high. A large hollow in the mound centre suggests previous robbing or an early excavation. Surrounding the barrow mound is a ditch from which material was quarried during the construction of the monument. This has become partly infilled over the years but survives as an earthwork 2.5m wide and 0.5m deep around the south-eastern part of the barrow and as a buried feature elsewhere.

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:

20278

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Grinsell, L V, Proceedings of the Hampshire Field Club in Hampshire Barrows, Vol. 14, (1938), 360

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