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. Despite reduction by ploughing, the bowl barrow 600m ESE of East Field Farm is
known to survive as a buried feature and will contain archaeological and
environmental evidence relating to the cemetery and the landscape in which
it was constructed.
Details
The monument includes a bowl barrow situated on a west-facing slope
overlooking the Bere Valley. The barrow forms part of a wider group of five
which together form a round barrow cemetery.
The barrow, which is known from aerial photograph evidence, has a mound
composed of earth, flint and chalk with maximum dimensions of 18m in diameter.
This is surrounded by a ditch from which material was quarried during the
construction of the monument. The ditch 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:
28353
Legacy System:
RSM
Sources
Books and journals Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset: Volume I, (1970), 437
Legal
This monument is scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 as amended as it appears to the Secretary of State to be of national importance. This entry is a copy, the original is held by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
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