Bowl barrow 630m NNE of Littleton House

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 bowl barrow 630m NNE of Littleton House survives well despite later disturbance and can be expected to retain archaeological remains and environmental evidence relating to the monument and the environment in which it was constructed.

Details

The monument includes a bowl barrow of Late Neolithic or Bronze Age date, situated 630m NNE of Littleton House on a broad chalk spur projecting south west from Worthy Down. The barrow has been damaged by the later excavation of a 3m wide trench, north-south, across it and has been clipped by modern ploughing. It now survives as a roughly oval-shaped, very steep-sided mound, approximately 26m in east-west diameter by 22m in north-south diameter, and 2m high. The mound is deeply hollowed in the centre as a result of the later excavation, creating the false impression of a twin barrow when viewed from the north or south. It is surrounded by traces of a surrounding ditch, 5m wide, which has been substantially infilled by the later ploughing but will survive as a buried feature. Further archaeological remains associated with the original construction and use of the monument, including burials, grave pits, burial goods, and the original ground surface can also be expected to survive as buried features 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:

34159

Legacy System:

RSM

End of official list entry

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