Bell barrow 50m south of Gunsite
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Scheduled Monument
- List Entry Number:
- 1012634
- Date first listed:
- 12-Mar-1953
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Location
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Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Scheduled Monument
- List Entry Number:
- 1012634
- Date first listed:
- 12-Mar-1953
- Date of most recent amendment:
- 22-Apr-1991
Location
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- County:
- Hampshire
- District:
- East Hampshire (District Authority)
- Parish:
- Selborne
- National Park:
- South Downs
- National Grid Reference:
- SU 78469 33588
Reasons for Designation
Bell barrows, the most visually impressive form of round barrow, are funerary monuments dating to the Early and Middle Bronze Age, with most examples belonging to the period 1500-1100 BC. They occur either in isolation or in round barrow cemeteries and were constructed as single or multiple mounds covering burials, often in pits, and surrounded by an enclosure ditch. The burials are frequently accompanied by weapons, personal ornaments and pottery and appear to be those of aristocratic individuals, usually men. Bell barrows (particularly multiple barrows) are rare nationally, with less than 250 known examples, most of which are in Wessex. Their richness in terms of grave goods provides evidence for chronological and cultural links amongst early prehistoric communities over most of southern and eastern England as well as providing an insight into their beliefs and social organisation. As a particularly rare form of round barrow, all identified bell barrows would normally be considered to be of national importance.
Despite localised damage caused by the later gun emplacement, the barrow survives comparatively well. There is no evidence for formal excavation of the Gunsite monument and the site has considerable archaeological potential.
Details
The monument includes a bell barrow set on a small promontory above a gentle west-facing slope. The barrow mound has a diameter of 30m and is 1.5m high. Surrounding the mound is a berm 3m wide and an outer bank 3m across and between 0.5 and 1m high. A concrete gun-emplacement has been constructed on top of the barrow mound causing some disturbance. This is excluded from the scheduling although the ground beneath is included.
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:
- 12152
- Legacy System:
- RSM
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.
Map
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 03-Jul-2026 at 06:32:04.
Download a full scale map (PDF)End of official list entry
All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.