Bowl barrow 330m south west of the junction of the A32 and Fawley Lane, part of The Jumps round barrow cemetery

Overview

Location

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 are the most numerous form of round barrows and date from the Late Neolithic period to the Late Bronze Age, with most examples belonging to the period 2400-1500 BC. The bowl barrow 330m south west of the junction of the A32 and Fawley Lane survives reasonably well despite some later disturbance. Along with the other barrows in the cemetery, it can be expected to retain important archaeological remains and environmental evidence relating to the monument and the landscape in which it was constructed.

Details

The monument includes a bowl barrow inconspicuously situated on a slight, south facing chalk slope 330m south west of the junction of the A32 and Fawley Lane, near West Tisted. It forms part of a round barrow cemetery of probable Bronze Age date (2000-700 BC) known locally as The Jumps or The Devil's Jumps. Seven additional round barrows which also form part of the cemetery, situated between 75m and 375m to the east, are the subject of separate schedulings. The bowl barrow includes a slightly oval shaped mound with a maximum diameter of 33m where it spreads down the slope. Its height was originally recorded by the Ordnance Survey in 1910 as 0.9m, but it has been considerably lowered and spread by modern ploughing and now survives to a height of 0.4m. There is no trace of a surrounding quarry ditch, although this will survive as a buried feature, approximately 2m wide. Further buried remains associated with the original use of the monument, including burials, grave pits, and grave goods, can be expected to survive beneath the mound.

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:

32555

Legacy System:

RSM

Legal

This monument is scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 as amended as it appears to the Secretary of State to be of national importance. This entry is a copy, the original is held by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.