Bowl barrow at Newlands Corner

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 at Newlands Corner survives comparatively well, despite some subsequent disturbance, and will retain archaeological and environmental evidence relating to the monument and the landscape in which it was constructed.

Details

The monument includes a bowl barrow situated on a sand-capped chalk ridge which forms part of the Surrey Hills. The barrow has a roughly circular mound around 19m in diameter and survives to a height of up to 1.3m, with a large central hollow indicating that it has been partly disturbed by antiquarian excavation. 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 survives as a buried feature around 2m wide. A modern fence has been constructed across the northern part of the barrow, causing some disturbance to the monument. The fence 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:

31382

Legacy System:

RSM

End of official list entry

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