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.
Bowl barrows are the most numerous form of round barrow, with over 10,000
examples recorded nationally. They are constructed as earthen or rubble
mounds, each covering single or multiple burials.
Despite some reduction by ploughing, the four bowl barrows 600m east and 650m
north east of Haywards Farm survive comparatively well, and at least one is
known from partial excavation to contain archaeological and environmental
evidence relating to the monument and the landscape in which it was
constructed.
Details
The monument includes a group of four bowl barrows, situated on a gentle,
south east facing slope overlooking the Bere valley. The barrows form part of
a wider group of 11 which, together, form a round barrow cemetery on Roke
Down. They fall within two areas of protection; the northern area contains a
group of three barrows, while the fourth barrow lies to the south in the
second area of protection.
The barrows each have a mound composed of earth, flint and chalk, with maximum
dimensions of between 20m-30m in diameter and 0.5m in height. Each mound is
surrounded by a ditch from which material was quarried during the construction
of the monument. The ditches have become infilled over the years, but each
will survive as a buried feature about 2m wide.
One of the barrows was partially excavated by Wake Smart in 1840 and later by
Solly. These investigations revealed sarsen stones on top of the mound and a
cist 0.9m deep at the base of the barrow. The cist contained a cremation
beneath an urn and was associated with three unusual daggers. Three other urns
and a series of glass beads were also recovered from the barrow.
Excluded from the scheduling are all fence posts relating to the modern field
boundary, although the underlying ground is included in each case.
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.
