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, the most numerous form of round barrow, date from the Late
Neolithic period to the Late Bronze Age with most examples belonging to the
period 2400-1500 BC. Over 10,000 surviving examples are recorded nationally.
Despite some disturbance by the possible construction of a windmill on top of
the western mound, the two bowl barrows on Black Down immediately east of the
Hardy Monument, survive comparatively well and the eastern example is known
from partial excavation to contain archaeological and environmental evidence
relating to the monument and the landscape in which it was constructed. The
barrows form part of the wider South Dorset Ridgeway group, which represents
one of the largest and most concentrated distributions of round barrows in
England.
Details
The monument includes two bowl barrows, aligned east-west, situated on the
south eastern part of Black Down, overlooking Weymouth Bay to the south east
and the Frome Valley to the north east. These form part of a dispersed
cemetery of 16 round barrows (of which 15 survive), forming part of the South
Dorset Ridgeway barrow group. The additional barrows in the cemetery are the
subject of separate schedulings.
The barrows each have a mound composed of sand, gravel and turf. The eastern
mound has maximum dimensions of 21m in diameter and about 1.2m in height, with
a central depression 6m long by 2m wide; this is likely to relate to partial
excavation by Cunnington in 1878. The western barrow mound, which is flat
topped, is 8m in diameter and about 0.35m high. This mound may have previously
supported a windmill as possible foundation trenches were recorded in 1959,
but have since become infilled.
Surrounding each mound is a ditch from which material was quarried during
their construction. These ditches have become infilled over the years, but
each will survive as a buried feature, except at the western end, where
construction of the Hardy Monument is likely to have destroyed any associated
buried deposits.
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.
