Bowl barrow 200m west of Chanctonbury Ring hillfort

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 bowl barrow 200m west of Chanctonbury Ring hillfort survives well and will contain archaeological remains and enviromental evidence relating to the monument and the landscape in which it was constructed. The monument forms part of a group of prehistoric, Roman and early medieval earthworks situated on Chanctonbury Hill, including a hillfort, Romano-Celtic temple, two cross dykes and a number of round barrows and hlaews or Saxon barrows, which are the subjects of separate schedulings. The close association of these monuments will rovide important evidence for the changing relationships between ceremonial and burial practices and land division in this area of downland over a period of c.1,500 years.

Details

The monument includes a bowl barrow situated on a chalk ridge which forms part of the Sussex Downs. The barrow has a circular mound c.13m in diameter and up to 0.75m high with a central hollow, indicating past part excavation. The mound is surrounded by a ditch from which material used to construct the barrow was excavated. This has become infilled over the years, but survives as a buried feature c.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:

27093

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Grinsell, L, Sussex Archaeological Collections in Sussex in the Bronze Age, Vol. 75, (1934), 253

End of official list entry

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