Bowl barrow at Kithurst Hill car park: part of a dispersed round barrow cemetery on Kithurst Hill

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 and comprise hemispherical, sometimes ditched earthen or rubble mounds covering single or multiple burials. Most examples were constructed during the Earlyu Bronze Age, between 2400-1500BC. There are over 10,000 surviving bowl barrows recorded nationally (many more have been destroyed), occurring across most of lowland Britain. The bowl barrow at Kithurst Hill car park survives well, despite some disturbance by an unrecorded antiquarian excavation, and will contain archaeological and environmental evidence relating to the cemetery and the landscape in which it was constructed. The barrow is one of a group of broadly contemporary monuments situated along the ridge, providing important evidence for the relationship between burial practices, settlement and land division in this area of downland during the later prehistoric period.

Details

The monument includes a bowl barrow situated on a chalk ridge which forms part of the Sussex Downs. The barrow is one of a group of 13 constructed along this part of the ridge, forming a dispersed, linear round barrow cemetery. The barrow has a circular mound c.13m in diameter and up to 1.2m high with a central hollow, indicating antiquarian excavation during the 18th or 19th centuries. The mound is surrounded by a ditch from which material used to construct the barrow was excavated. This has become infilled over the years, but will survive 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:

29261

Legacy System:

RSM

End of official list entry

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