Bowl barrow and disc barrow 730m south of Kingston Russell Farm, forming part of the round barrow cemetery on the south western part of Black Down

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.

Despite reduction by ploughing, the bowl barrow and disc barrow 730m south of Kingston Russell Farm survive comparatively well and will contain archaeological and environmental evidence relating to the cemetery and the landscape in which it was constructed. The disc barrow is one of only 28 recorded in Dorset and 60 known in England.

Details

The monument includes a bowl barrow and disc barrow aligned north east to south west and situated on a north facing slope of the South Dorset Downs overlooking the South Winterbourne valley. The barrows form part of a cemetery containing twelve round barrows, of which ten survive; the cemetery appears to have developed around a pair of earlier long mounds situated on the south western part of Black Down. The bowl barrow, which is to the south west, has a mound composed of earth, chalk and flint with a maximum diameter of 17m and a maximum height of c.0.75m. Surrounding the mound is a ditch from which material was quarried during the construction of the monument. This has become infilled over the years, but will survive as a buried feature c.1.5m wide. The disc barrow, which was first recorded by the Royal Commission for Historic Monuments (England) in 1952, has since been reduced by ploughing. The barrow was recorded as having a central mound composed of earth, chalk and flint, 5m in diameter, surrounded by a berm or gently sloping platform 5m wide and enclosed by an outer bank 2m wide. Surrounding the barrow is a ditch from which material was quarried during the construction of the monument. This has become infilled over the years, but will survive as a buried feature c.1.5m 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:

22981

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
An Inventory of the Historical Monuments of Dorset: Volume 1 , (1952), 127
An Inventory of the Historical Monuments of Dorset: Volume 1 , (1952), 127
An Inventory of the Historical Monuments of Dorset: Volume 1 , (1952), 127

Other
Mention ditch,

End of official list entry

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