Bowl barrow and two saucer barrows 440m south east of the Club House on Petersfield Heath common, part of the Petersfield Heath Group

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.

Saucer barrows date to the Early Bronze Age, most examples falling between 1800 and 1200BC. They are one of rarest forms of round barrow with about 60 examples known nationally, most of which are in Wessex. Bowl barrows, by contrast, are one of the most numerous forms of round barrow, and date from the Late Neolithic period to the Late Bronze Age, with most examples dating to between 2400-1500BC. The bowl barrow and two saucer barrows on Petersfield Heath Common 440m south east of the Club House survive reasonably well despite some later disturbance. These and the other barrows in the group can be expected to retain important archaeological remains and environmental evidence relating to the cemetery and the environment in which it was constructed.

Details

The monument includes a bowl barrow and two saucer barrows, all of Late Neolithic to Bronze Age date, situated on a low ridge on Petersfield Heath Common, between Heath Pond and Heath Road East. It forms part of a round barrow cemetery east of Heath Pond, known as the Petersfield Heath Group. Now comprising 21 barrows, a first edition Ordnance Survey map dated to 1810 indicates that this round barrow cemetery was formerly more extensive, including further barrows situated to the north and east, now destroyed by modern housing. The bowl barrow is located on the crest of the ridge. It includes a flat- topped mound, roughly circular in shape, which stands approximately 1.6m high and is 26m in diameter. There is no visible trace of an outer quarry ditch, although this will survive as a buried feature approximately 2m wide. The two saucer barrows lie 25m to the north east on the gentle northern slope of the ridge. Both have been almost levelled by the modern construction and use of a golfcourse fairway but survive as faint earthwork features. Both barrows are of similar dimensions and include a low, circular central mound, approximately 0.1m high and 4.5m in diameter, surrounded by a partly infilled ditch, 2m-3m wide and 0.1m deep. They are situated 13m apart. Four steel marker posts set into and around the ditch of the eastern saucer barrow are excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath them 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:

32537

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Grinsell, L V, Proceedings of the Hampshire Field Club in Hampshire Barrows, Vol. 14, (1939)

End of official list entry

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