Nine barrows and part of a later enclosure 350m north east of sea mark: the barrows forming part of a round barrow cemetery on Ashey Down

Reasons for Designation

Round barrow cemeteries date to the Bronze Age (c.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, occasionally associated with earlier long barrows. Where large scale investigation has been undertaken around them, contemporary or later "flat" 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 nine barrows and part of the enclosure 350m north east of sea mark survive well. The barrows are known from partial excavation to be integral to the Ashey Down cemetery, and the barrows and the section of enclosure will contain archaeological remains and environmental evidence relating to the monuments on Ashey Down and the landscape in which they were constructed.

Details

The monument includes nine round barrows and part of a later enclosure on the slope of a north east facing hillside just below the crest of the hill, on the central upper chalk ridge of the Isle of Wight. The barrows form part of a wider cemetery on Ashey Down which includes 19 barrows. The barrows which fall within this monument have mounds with diameters of between 13.5m and 25m, and range in height from 0.9m to 2m. Surrounding each mound is a ditch from which material was quarried during its construction. These ditches have become infilled over the years and can no longer be seen at ground level, but survive as buried features c.3m wide. Of the nine barrows in this monument, eight have recorded excavations. Six of these were partly excavated by B Barrow in 1853 who found cremations, charcoal, human and animal bones and pottery. Two more barrows were excavated by P Drewett in 1969 who found flint artefacts, Bronze Age pottery sherds, Romano-British coins and an inhumation. Drewett recorded that one of the barrows he excavated was a bell barrow; the remainder are bowl barrows. The ninth barrow in the group has a central disturbance indicative of antiquarian investigation, though no details are known. That part of the enclosure which lies within the area of the scheduling includes the angle of its western corner. This appears as a bank c.0.5m high and an internal ditch c.0.5m wide and c.0.3m deep. The sample of enclosure runs for a length of c.60m north east-south west and 10m north west-south east, and is part of a large enclosure covering c.1.4ha. Drewett, who surveyed this part of Ashey Down in 1969, considered the enclosure to be medieval in date.

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:

22055

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Isle of Wight archaeological index, (1979)
Barrow, B, Journal of the British Archaeological Association in Journal of the British Archaeological Association, (1854), 164
Barrow, B, Journal of the British Archaeological Association in Journal of the British Archaeological Association, (1854), 164
Drewett, P L, Proceedings of the Hampshire Field Club in Proceedings of the Hampshire Field Club, Vol. 27, (1970), 55-56
Drewett, P L, Proceedings of the Hampshire Field Club in Proceedings of the Hampshire Field Club, Vol. 27, (1970), 55-56
Drewett, P L, Proceedings of the Hampshire Field Club in Proceedings of the Hampshire Field Club, Vol. 27, (1970), 33
Drewett, P L, Proceedings of the Hampshire Field Club in Proceedings of the Hampshire Field Club, Vol. 27, (1970), 33-56
Drewett, P L, Proceedings of the Hampshire Field Club in Proceedings of the Hampshire Field Club, Vol. 27, (1970), 55-56
Drewett, P L, Proceedings of the Hampshire Field Club in Proceedings of the Hampshire Field Club, Vol. 27, (1970), 56
Drewett, P L, Proceedings of the Hampshire Field Club in Proceedings of the Hampshire Field Club, Vol. 27, (1970), 55
Drewett, P L, Proceedings of the Hampshire Field Club in Proceedings of the Hampshire Field Club, Vol. 27, (1970), 55-56
Tomalin, D J, Proceedings of the Hampshire Field Club in Proceedings of the Hampshire Field Club, Vol. 30, (1973), 31-34

Other
Category B No.7, The Vectis Report, (1980)

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