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 1300m east of the Grange survive well, with a variety of
identifiable features. Archaeological information concerning the construction
and the duration and manner of use of the barrows, as well as evidence for the
local environment at that time, will be contained in the barrow mounds, in the
fill of the ditches and in soils buried beneath the mounds and the external
banks. The monument has additional interest and importance in relation to
other barrows in the vicinity, including one situated c.90m to the south west
and another c.670m to the south, as well as others of Neolithic and Bronze Age
date which survive as upstanding earthworks to the south west, dispersed over
a distance of c.2.6km. As a group, these barrows provide some evidence for the
character and development of the prehistoric population of the area.
Details
The monument includes two adjacent bowl barrows located on level ground
immediately to the west of West Rudham parish boundary. The barrows are
visible as two flat-topped earthen mounds, each encircled by a ditch, from
which earth was dug and used in the construction of the barrow, and by a
slight external bank. In the larger of the two, the mound covers an area c.30m
in diameter and is c.1.5m in height, measured from the bottom of the
surrounding ditch. The ditch has become partly infilled but remains as a well
defined hollow, c.10m wide and c.0.8m deep, in the ground surface. The earthen
bank around the ditch is up to 6m wide and c.0.3m high, except on the south
and south west side of the barrow, where it has been levelled. The second and
smaller barrow lies c.10m ESE of the first. The mound has a diameter of c.26m
and stands to a height of c.1.2m above the bottom of the surrounding ditch.
The ditch is marked by a hollow c.4m wide and up to 0.45m deep, and the bank
around the ditch is c.3m wide and c.0.3m in height. On the north east side of
the barrow, some later disturbance has removed a part of the bank, leaving a
slight hollow.
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.
