Three bowl barrows on Ibsley Common 630m and 720m north east of Mockbeggar Farm

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 three barrows on Ibsley Common 630m and 720m north east of Mockbeggar Farm survive well and two are known from partial excavation to contain archaeological remains providing information about Bronze Age burial practices, economy and environment.

Details

The monument which falls into two areas, includes three bowl barrows on the western edge of Ibsley Common 650m north east of Mockbeggar Farm. The barrows have mounds ranging in diameter between 8.5m and 13m and in height between 0.3m and 0.7m. In the case of the eastern and western barrows the mounds were surrounded by quarry ditches from which material used during their construction was derived. These have become infilled over the years but survive as buried features about 2m wide. The central barrow was found during partial excavation to have no quarry ditch. Both the eastern and central barrows were partially excavated by Heywood Sumner in 1921. The eastern barrow contained an inner mound sealing the cremation of a young adult female in an upright urn. In the middle of the central barrow, 0.56m below the surface, the rim of an urn and fragments of a cremation were discovered. No other finds were made. The western barrow also appears to have been excavated in the past, although there is no record of this.

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:

29598

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Sumner, H, Transactions of the Bournemouth Field Club and Arch. Society in Excavation of barrows on Ibsley Common, Vol. 14, (1922), 69-78

End of official list entry

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