Twin bowl barrow on Furzley Common, 810m SSW of Stagbury Hill

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.

Twin bowl barrows, where two mounds are grouped within a single ditch, are relatively rare and are exclusively confined to Wessex. The twin bowl barrow on Furzley Common, 810m SSW of Stagbury Hill, survives well despite some later disturbance and can be expected to retain archaeological remains and environmental evidence relating to the monument and the landscape in which it was constructed. Its association with additional round barrows on Furzley Common demonstrates the importance of the area as a site of Late Neolithic or Bronze Age ritual activity.

Details

The monument includes a twin bowl barrow of Late Neolithic or Bronze Age date, prominently situated on a high sandy spur at the south end of Furzley Common, 810m SSW of Stagbury Hill. It is oriented east-west along the crest of the spur and includes two flat topped, circular mounds enclosed within a single, oval shaped ditch and outer bank. The higher mound, to the east, stands 1.7m high and measures 10m in diameter. It slightly overlaps the lower mound to the west which stands 1.2m high and measures 12m in diameter. The ditch and outer bank are most pronounced at the steeply sloping end of the spur to the east, where the ditch is 2m wide and 0.4m deep and the bank is 5m wide and stands up to 1m high. They are least substantial to the south west where the monument has been partly levelled by later disturbance.

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:

31173

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Other
Crosby, A D, (1998)

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