Bell barrow on Grange Heath, 600m north of The Drinking Barrow, forming part of the Grange Heath round barrow cemetery

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 bell barrow on Grange Heath survives well and will contain archaeological and environmental evidence relating to the monument and the cemetery in which it was constructed.

Details

The monument includes a bell barrow, one of six in the Grange Heath round barrow cemetery, situated on a low sandstone ridge of Grange Heath in the Isle of Purbeck. The barrow has a central mound composed of earth, sand and turf with a maximum diameter of 32m and a maximum height of c.2.85m. The mound is surrounded by a berm or gently sloping platform 5m wide and an outer 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 3m 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:

28312

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Other
Mention berm,
Mention flag-staff,
Mention surrounding quarry ditch,
Mention dense vegetation,

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