Bowl barrow on Ibsley Common, 820m south east of Broomy

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.

The bowl barrow on Ibsley Common 820m south east of Broomy survives comparatively well despite some later disturbance caused by its use for a parish boundary marker stone and by gravel extraction related to the use of the area as a World War II aerodrome. It forms part of a widely spaced group of at least 15 round barrows situated on Ibsley Common. Partial excavation of six of these barrows has demonstrated that they retain archaeological remains and environmental evidence relating to each barrow and the landscape in which it was constructed.

Details

The monument includes a bowl barrow of Late Neolithic or Bronze Age date, situated on sloping ground at the heel of a steep spur projecting east from the northern end of a high gravel plateau on Ibsley Common. This flat plateau, which covers an area of approximately 240ha, was later used as the site of a World War II aerodrome for which some associated structural and earthwork remains survive. The monument is located on the parish boundary between Ellingham, Harbridge and Ibsley and Hyde which is marked by a square stone set into the top of the barrow. At least 15 further round barrows are widely spaced across the common, all of which are situated near the upper edges of the central plateau or on subsidiary spurs. These are the subject of separate schedulings. The monument has been disturbed by the later parish boundary stone and by World War II gravel extraction, but survives as a roughly circular mound, 13m in diameter. It is situated on a slight rise on the spur which has been exaggerated by the gravel digging, rising up to 0.8m above a remnant of the original land surface on the north western side where traces of a surrounding quarry ditch, 2m wide and 0.1m deep, survive. This ditch, which would have provided material for the barrow's construction, has been destroyed to the south where the barrow has been cut by deep gravel extraction pits. Excavations of six other barrows on Ibsley Common in 1917 and 1921 revealed similar ditches encircling mounds constructed of layers of compacted clay, sand and gravel flints. The excavations indicated oval or rectangular voids for inhumation burials at the centres of two of the barrows and Bronze Age funerary urns filled with burnt human bone and other material at the centres of three others. The urns and other materials recovered from these excavations are now held at the Salisbury Museum. The parish boundary marker stone located on the monument is excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath it 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:

31175

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Grinsell, L V, Proceedings of the Hampshire Field Club in Hampshire Barrows, Vol. 14, (1938), 359
Sumner, H, Proceedings of the Bournemouth Natural Science Society in Barrows on Ibsley Common, Vol. 14, (1922), 9-10

End of official list entry

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