Bowl barrow 350m south of Woolbury hillfort: 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 recent 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 350m south of Woolbury is a comparatively well preserved example of its class. Despite some erosion of the western margins of the mound, the barrow exhibits a largely original profile and will contain archaeological remains providing information about Bronze Age burial practices, economy and environment. The monument is situated within an area of unrestricted public access.

Details

The monument includes a ditched 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 approximately 350m south of Woolbury and 100m south west of a major linear ditch which marks the southern boundary of a field system associated with the hillfort. The barrow has a circular mound 10m in diameter and 0.4m high. The structure of the mound includes large quantities of flint nodules. Surrounding this and surviving as a buried feature approximately 2m wide is a ditch from which material to construct the mound was quarried.

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:

26733

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Papworth, M, Archaeological Survey, Stockbridge Down and Marsh, Hampshire, (1992), 25-26
Eagles, B N, British Archaeological Reports: British Series in Woolbury Fields, Stockbridge Down, Hampshire, Vol. 209, (1989)
Grinsell, L V, Proceedings of the Hampshire Field Club in Hampshire Barrows, Vol. Vol 14, (1938), 353

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