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 bowl barrow 300m west of New Planting survives comparatively well and will
contain archaeological and environmental evidence relating to the Three Barrow
Clump cemetery and the landscape in which it was constructed. In addition to
this barrow, the cemetery contains a bell barrow, of which 250 are known
nationally, and a pond barrow, of which only 60 are known.
Details
The monument includes a bowl barrow situated below the crest of a chalk ridge
of the South Dorset Downs, overlooking the valley of the South Winterbourne to
the north. The barrow forms a western outlier of the group of at least eight
round barrows situated to the east, which together form the core of the Three
Barrow Clump round barrow cemetery.
The barrow has a mound composed of earth, chalk and flint, with a maximum
diameter of 8m and a maximum height of c.0.4m. This is surrounded by a ditch
from which material was quarried during the construction of the monument. This
has become infilled over the years, but it is known from an earlier survey to
have been 1.8m wide. This will survive as a buried feature.
Excluded from the scheduling are all fence posts relating to the field
boundaries, 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.
