Pair of bowl barrows and a saucer barrow 180m south west of Further Plantation: part of Foxholes Brow round barrow cemetery

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 barrow and comprise hemispherical, sometimes ditched earthen or rubble mounds covering single or multiple burials. Most examples date from the Late Neolithic period to the Late Bronze Age (2400-1500 BC). There are over 10,000 surviving bowl barrows recorded nationally (many more have been destroyed), occurring across most of lowland Britain. Saucer barrows are one of the rarest recognised forms of round barrow, and take the form of a circular area of level ground defined by a bank and internal ditch and largely occupied by a single low, squat mound. They are funerary monuments of the Early Bronze Age, most examples dating to between 1800 and 1200 BC. Very few examples have been recorded to date, most of which are in Wessex. The two bowl barrows and the saucer barrow 180m south west of Further Plantation survive comparatively well, despite some disturbance caused during World War II, and will retain important archaeological and environmental evidence relating to the construction and use of the cemetery. The saucer barrow is one of only a few recorded in the south east.

Details

The monument includes a pair of bowl barrows and a saucer barrow situated on a chalk ridge which forms part of the Sussex Downs. The barrows are part of a group of six burial mounds constructed along this part of the ridge, forming a dispersed, linear round barrow cemetery. The two NNE-SSW aligned bowl barrows have roughly circular mounds measuring around 11.5m in diameter and up to 0.7m high. The northern barrow has a pronounced central hollow which contains the remains of a concrete structure, indicating that the barrow was reused during World War II. Soil excavated from the mound has been deposited in a low bank to the east of the barrow. Each mound will be surrounded by a ditch from which material used to construct the barrows was excavated. These have become infilled over the years, but survive as buried features up to 2m wide. Lying 20m to the north east, just below the crest of the ridge, is a saucer barrow with a low, central mound around 13m in diameter and up to 0.5m high. This is surrounded by a shallow ditch from which material used to construct the barrow was excavated. The ditch has become partly infilled over the years but survives as a visible depression around 2m wide and 0.4m deep. The ditch is in turn encircled by a low bank about 4m wide and 0.2m high. The land between the barrows is likely to contain unmarked contemporary or later burials, partly buried beneath soil deposited during World War II activities.

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:

20139

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Grinsell, L V, Sussex Archaeological Collections in Sussex Barrows, Vol. 75, (1934), 274

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