Four bowl barrows on Hog Hill, west and north west of Maiden Castle

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 some reduction by ploughing, the four bowl barrows on Hog Hill west and north west of Maiden Castle survive comparatively well and will contain archaeological and environmental evidence relating to the monument and the landscape in which it was constructed. This forms part of one of three round barrow cemeteries in the immediate vicinity of Maiden Castle.

Details

The monument, which falls into four areas, includes a group of four bowl barrows on Hog Hill overlooking the Winterborne Valley to the south. The barrows form part of a wider cemetery of eight round barrows situated to the west and north west of Maiden Castle. The barrows each have a mound composed of earth, chalk and flint, with maximum dimensions of between 23m-25m in diameter and c.0.50m-c.0.65m 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 c.2m wide. Excluded from the scheduling are all fence posts relating to the modern field boundaries, although the ground beneath is included.

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:

28333

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset: Volume I, (1970), 471
Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset: Volume I, (1970), 471

Other
Title: Ordnance Survey 1:2500 Series Source Date: 1955 Author: Publisher: Surveyor: Mapped depiction
Mention nearby long barrow,
Mention wider cemetery,
No mention by Grinsell/RCHME,

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