Platform barrow 300m south of Wolstonbury Camp

Reasons for Designation

Platform barrows, funerary monuments dating to the Bronze Age (2000-700 BC), are the rarest of the recognised types of round barrow, with fewer than 50 examples recorded nationally. They occur widely across southern England with a marked concentration in East and West Sussex and can occur either in barrow cemeteries (closely-spaced groups of barrows) or singly. They were constructed as low, flat-topped mounds of earth surrounded by a shallow ditch, occasionally crossed by an entrance causeway. None of the known examples stands higher than 1m above ground level, and most are considerably lower than this. Due to their comparative visual insignificance when compared to the larger types of round barrow, few were explored by 19th century antiquarians. As a result, few platform barrows are disturbed by excavation and, consequently, they remain a poorly understood class of monument. Their importance lies in their potential for illustrating the diversity of beliefs and burial practices in the Bronze Age and, due to their extreme rarity and considerable fragility, all identified platform barrows would normally be considered to be of national importance.

The platform barrow 300m south of Wolstonbury Camp survives comparatively well and will contain important archaeological remains and environmental evidence relating to the ways in which the monument was constructed and used. The barrow forms part of a group of broadly contemporary monuments situated on Wolstonbury Hill, including Wolstonbury Camp (SM 27077) and a cross dyke and bowl barrow c.120m to the south east (SM 27075). Their close association will provide evidence for the relationship between ceremonial and burial practices and land division during the later prehistoric period.

Details

The monument includes a platform barrow situated on a chalk spur which projects to the south east from Wolstonbury Hill, forming part of the Sussex Downs. The barrow has a roughly circular, flat-topped mound c.14m in diameter and up to c.0.3m high. 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 will survive as a buried feature c.1m 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:

27076

Legacy System:

RSM

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