Bell barrow on Stoborough Heath 380m NNE of Hill View

Reasons for Designation

Bell barrows, the most visually impressive form of round barrow, are funerary monuments dating to the Early and Middle Bronze Age, with most examples belonging to the period 1500-1100 BC. They occur either in isolation or in round barrow cemeteries and were constructed as single or multiple mounds covering burials, often in pits, and surrounded by an enclosure ditch. The burials are frequently accompanied by weapons, personal ornaments and pottery and appear to be those of aristocratic individuals, usually men. Bell barrows (particularly multiple barrows) are rare nationally, with less than 250 known examples, most of which are in Wessex. Their richness in terms of grave goods provides evidence for chronological and cultural links amongst early prehistoric communities over most of southern and eastern England as well as providing an insight into their beliefs and social organisation. As a particularly rare form of round barrow, all identified bell barrows would normally be considered to be of national importance.



Despite some limited disturbance, the bell barrow on Stoborough Heath 380m NNE of Hill View survives well and will contain archaeological and environmental evidence relating to the monument and the landscape in which it was constructed. The bell barrow forms part of a dispersed group of four round barrows on Stoborough Heath, each of which are the subject of separate schedulings.

Details

The monument includes a bell barrow situated on Stoborough Heath in the Isle of Purbeck, 380m NNE of Hill View. It is set on a low sandstone rise overlooking Poole Harbour to the north east and the South Dorset Ridge to the south west.

The barrow has a mound composed of earth, sand and turf with maximum dimensions of 20m in diameter and c.2m in height. An irregular hollow on the northern side of the mound represents an extraction pit. 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 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:

28305

Legacy System:

RSM

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