Two bowl barrows east of Church Place

Reasons for Designation

Bowl barrows, the most numerous form of round barrow, are funerary monuments dating from the Late Neolithic period to the Late Bronze Age, with most examples belonging to the period 2400-1500 BC. They were constructed as earthen or rubble mounds, sometimes ditched, which covered single or multiple burials. They occur either in isolation or grouped as cemeteries and often acted as a focus for burials in later periods. Often superficially similar, although differing widely in size, they exhibit regional variations in form and a diversity of burial practices. There are over 10,000 surviving bowl barrows recorded nationally (many more have already been destroyed), occurring across most of lowland Britain. Often occupying prominent locations, they are a major historic element in the modern landscape and their considerable variation of form and longevity as a monument type provide important information on the diversity of beliefs and social organisations amongst early prehistoric communities. They are particularly representative of their period and a substantial proportion of surviving examples are considered worthy of protection.

The two bowl barrows east of Church Place survive comparatively well in the New Forest, an area known to have been important in terms of lowland Bronze Age occupation. A considerable amount of archaeological evidence has survived in the area because of a lack of agricultural activity, the result of later climatic deterioration, development of heath and the establishment of a Royal Forest.

Details

The monument includes two bowl barrows situated on the eastern end of an east to west ridge. The northern barrow mound measures 20m in diameter and stands up to 2m high. A slight hollow in the mound centre suggests previous robbing or early exploration of the site. The southern edge has the steepest slope suggesting that the mound has been clipped, possibly by cultivation or during tree planting. Although no longer visible at ground level, a ditch, from which material was quarried during construction of the monument, surrounds the barrow mound. This has become infilled over the years but survives as a buried feature c.2m wide. The second mound situated 11m to the south measures 7m in diameter and stands up to 0.5m high. A 2.1m wide ditch survives as a slight earthwork 0.3m deep around the northern part of the mound 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:

20201

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

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

Other
Darvill, T, Monument Class Description - Bowl barrows, 1988,

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