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.
Details
The monument includes a bowl barrow cemetery of five bowl barrows on Hardown
Hill 600m west of Butt Farm. Four barrows lie on the edge of the hill in a
curved line aligned north-south. These barrows vary in diameter between 9m and
13m and between 0.6m and 1m in height. Surrounding each mound is a quarry
ditch from which material was excavated during their construction. These have
become infilled over the years but survive as buried features approximately 2m
wide. The fifth barrow has a mound, 8m in diameter and 0.4m high, with a large
flat-bottomed hollow in the middle, surrounded by two concentric banks. The
inner bank, at a distance of 3.5m from the edge of the mound, is a vague
feature 1m wide and 0.1m high with an outer ditch 1m wide and 0.1m deep. A gap
of about 2m separates the banks. The outer bank, 2m wide and about 0.3m high,
links four horseshoe-shaped earthworks symetrically placed around the circle
with the open sides facing towards the central mound. These earthworks, an
average of 10m wide and 0.5m high, all have depressions up to 0.5m deep in
their bases. The ditch external to the outer bank is vague and intermittent
and curves around the outer edges of these features. It is thought that the
central mound is most likely a Bronze Age burial mound which has been later
incorporated into a more elaborate earthwork feature.
In 1916 one of these barrows was excavated by Dr Wynyatt Wingrave, who found
it to contain pagan Saxon burials with grave goods including spearheads, a
knife, a shield boss, and a bronze brooch dating to the mid-fifth to the mid-
sixth century. The exact provenance of the finds is uncertain but the mound
within the concentric banks seems the most likely location because of the size
of the depression cut into it. The objects found suggest a minimum of five
graves which are thought to be secondary burials inserted into the Bronze Age
barrow.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
29580
Legacy System:
RSM
Sources
Books and journals
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.
End of official list entry
