The King's Barrow 230m east of Bartlett's Firs

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.

The King's Barrow 230m east of Bartlett's Firs survives well and is known from part excavation to contain archaeological and environmental evidence relating to the monument and the landscape in which it was constructed. The barrow is known to have contained a rare example of a tree trunk coffin, as well as an unusual funerary vessel.

Details

The monument includes a bowl barrow situated on a low ridge occupying the northern edge of Stoborough Heath within the Isle of Purbeck, overlooking the Frome Valley to the north. The site, which is known as the King's Barrow, has a mound composed of earth, sand and turf with a maximum diameter of 20m and a maximum height of c.1.5m. This is surrounded by 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 2m wide. The barrow was partly excavated during 1767 when a primary inhumation without a skull was found wrapped in stitched animal skins within a hollowed out wooden coffin which was 3m long, 1.2m wide and 0.9m deep and orientated north west by south east. The burial was associated with a probable shale cup; this has since been lost, although illustrations suggest that it was decorated with incised lines.

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:

22997

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Other
Mention barrow name,
Mention shale cup,
Mention primary inhumation,
Mention partial excavations,

End of official list entry