Bowl barrow 540m north of Woodbine Barn

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 540m north of Woodbine Barn is, despite erosion caused by cultivation, a comparatively well preserved example of its class. Part excavation has demonstrated the date of the barrow which will contain archaeological remains providing further information about Bronze Age beliefs, economy and environment.

Details

The monument includes a bowl barrow, lying immediately below the crest of a ridge to the south of Fonthill Bushes. The barrow has a mound approximately 20m in diameter which survives to a maximum height of 0.7m. The margins of the mound have been eroded by cultivation resulting in its present sub-rectangular shape. Surrounding the mound is a ditch from which material for its construction was quarried. This is no longer visible on the surface but will survive as a buried feature 3m wide. In 1860 the barrow was partly excavated by a Mr Thornbury who found what may have been the primary burial, a cremation in a Middle Bronze Age urn accompanied by a flat bronze dagger.

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:

26830

Legacy System:

RSM

End of official list entry

All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.