Bowl barrow 100m north east of Green Place: one of a dispersed group of barrows on Stockbridge Down

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.

Stockbridge Down is one of few surviving areas of undisturbed chalk downland in Wessex and contains a range of generally well preserved archaeological features. A survey of the area has confirmed the survival of prehistoric round barrows, linear earthworks and field systems, all to the south of the Iron Age hillfort of Woolbury. The bowl barrow 100m north east of Green Place on Stockbridge Down is a small but well preserved example of its class. Such small barrows are particularly vulnerable to mechanical erosion, yet this example appears to exhibit a largely original profile within which the slight traces of a surrounding ditch may be recognised. The barrow contains archaeological remains relating to Bronze Age burial practices, economy and environment. The monument is situated within an area of unrestricted public access.

Details

The monument includes a small bowl barrow, one of a dispersed group of round barrows situated to the south of Woolbury hillfort on the southern slopes of Stockbridge Down. The monument lies on level ground approximately 25m north of the A272 Stockbridge to Winchester road. The barrow mound is 12m in diameter and a maximum of 0.4m high. Traces of a ditch from which material to construct the mound was quarried can be seen on the downslope (southern) side of the mound. For the remainder of the circumference of the mound the ditch survives as a buried feature approximately 2m wide.

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:

26728

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Papworth, M, Archaeological Survey, Stockbridge Down and Marsh, Hampshire, (1992), 11
Grinsell, L V, Proceedings of the Hampshire Field Club in Hampshire Barrows, Vol. Vol 14, (1938), 353

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