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 two bowl barrows and two ring ditches 450m north west of Haywards Farm are
part of a dispersed cluster of similar monuments on the ridge and will contain
archaeological deposits providing information about Bronze Age funerary
practices, economy and environment.
Details
The monument, which falls into four separate areas of protection, includes two
bowl barrows and two other probable bowl barrows which are visible as ring
ditches on aerial photographs, on a low ridge below Milborne Down 450m north
west of Haywards Farm. The barrows form part of a group of five similar
monuments of which four can now be identified.
The two bowl barrows which are situated to the north, each have a mound 20m in
diameter and up to 0.7m high each surrounded by a quarry ditch from which
material used for their construction was derived. These ditches have become
infilled over the years, but will survive as buried features up to 3m wide.
The two ring ditches were recorded by the Ordnance Survey in 1981 and are
known to have diameters of 20m including the ditch.
A fifth barrow shown on Ordnance Survey drawings of 1805 and 1811 may have
existed previously but, as it is not visible on aerial photographs and can no
longer be verified on the ground, it is not included in the scheduling. Three
unlocated barrows on the lower part of Milborne Down were excavated by Charles
Warne in the mid-19th century and it is possible that this excavation refers
to this group of barrows. The investigations revealed in three seperate
barrows: a primary cremation in an urn placed in a cist, a primary inhumation
of an adult on a sandstone paved floor with a secondary inhumation of an
infant, and a primary inhumation covered by a cairn with three subsequent
inhumations placed in the cairn and a secondary cremation in 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.
