The Burgh: a bowl barrow 940m east of Canada

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 Burgh bowl barrow survives well, despite some subsequent disturbance, and will contain archaeological deposits and environmental evidence relating to the construction and use of the monument.

Details

The monument includes a bowl barrow situated on a chalk spur which projects from the southern edge of the Sussex Downs. The barrow has a roughly circular mound, about 15m in diameter and 1.7m high with a central hollow indicating part excavation at some time in the past. Finds recovered from the monument during excavation included Bronze Age and later, Roman pottery. The mound is surrounded by a ditch from which material used to construct the barrow was excavated. The ditch has become infilled over the years but will survive as a buried feature around 2m wide. The barrow has been partly disturbed by past modern ploughing on its south eastern side, and the north western edge of the mound has been partly levelled by long term use of a track.

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:

31220

Legacy System:

RSM

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