Three bowl barrows 420m south-west of Pitts Copse Farm forming part of the Beaulieu Heath round barrow cemetery

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 three bowl barrows 420m south-west of Pitts Copse Farm form part of the Beaulieu Heath round barrow cemetery which contains a variety of barrow types. They survive comparatively well within 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 this 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

This monument includes three bowl barrows situated on a gentle east facing slope overlooking Holbury Village. The northern barrow mound measures 20m in diameter and stands up to 1.4m high. A slight hollow in the centre of the mound suggests robbing or partial early excavation. The mound overlaps a second barrow situated immediately to the south. This barrow mound measures 15m in diameter and stands up to 0.7m high. The southern barrow mound lies 8m to the south and measures 26m in diameter and 1.8m high. All three barrows are surrounded by ditches from which material was quarried during the construction of the monument. These have become infilled over the years and now survive as buried features with a maximum width of c.3.5m. The barbed wire boundary fence on the western edge of the southern barrow mound is excluded from the scheduling although the ground beneath it 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:

20236

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Grinsell, L V, Proceedings of the Hampshire Field Club in Hampshire Barrows, Vol. 14, (1938), 361
Grinsell, L V, Proceedings of the Hampshire Field Club in Hampshire Barrows, Vol. 14, (1940), 361

Other
Hampshire County Planning Department, SU 40 SW 42B,

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