Bowl barrow on Beachy Brow 820m north west of Youth Hostel

Reasons for Designation

Round barrows 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 mounds, sometimes ditched, which covered single or multiple burials. They occur either in isolation or grouped as cemeteries and often acted as a focus of 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 examples recorded nationally (many more have already been destroyed), occurring across most of Britain, including the Wessex area where it is often possible to classify them more closely, for example as bowl or bell barrows. Often occupying prominent locations, they are a major historic element in the modern landscape and their considerable variation in 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 Beachy Brow 820m north west of the Youth Hostel 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 chalk ridge which forms part of the Sussex Downs. The barrow has a circular mound about 12m in diameter and up to around 1m high with a large central hollow, indicating antiquarian excavation during the 18th or 19th centuries. 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 will survive as a buried feature around 2m wide. The South Downs Way, a long distance track, has been constructed across the western part of the ditch, causing some disturbance to the monument.

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:

32266

Legacy System:

RSM

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