Three bowl barrows, 230m north of Sewage Works at Longmoor Camp

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 three bowl barrows situated 230m north of the Sewage Works at Longmoor Camp survive reasonably well despite some later disturbance and can be expected to retain archaeological remains and environmental evidence relating to the barrows and the environment in which they were constructed. The monument is closely associated with a number of other round barrow cemeteries and barrow groups within the area of Woolmer Forest which together constitute a particularly well-preserved ritual landscape of the Late Neolithic and Bronze Age periods.

Details

The monument includes a group of three bowl barrows of Late Neolithic or Bronze Age date situated within Woolmer Forest on a low sandy ridge that extends alongside the A3, immediately north east of Longmoor Camp. The two largest barrows are aligned ENE-WSW along the ridge, approximately 130m apart, while the third is a probable barrow situated approximately 20m to the north. They form one of a large number of similar barrow groups, barrow cemeteries or isolated barrows located in and around Woolmer Forest, some of which are the subject of separate schedulings. The barrows survive in reasonably good condition although all three have been damaged by the later excavation of slit trenches across them or are rutted by heavy vehicle tracks associated with the modern use of the area as a military training ground. The eastern barrow is also deeply hollowed on the southern side, possibly as a result of the discharge of military ordnance. The two largest barrows survive, however, as roughly circular, flat-topped mounds, approximately 23m in diameter and ranging from 1.4m to 2m in height. The probable bowl barrow to the north is comparatively small, but survives as an irregularly circular shaped mound, 12m in diameter and 0.4m high. The eastern barrow is surrounded by a partly infilled surrounding ditch, 3m wide and 0.3m deep, from which material would have been obtained for the mound's construction. Similar ditches may be expected to survive as buried features around the other two barrows, now infilled by the later use of the monument. Further archaeological remains associated with the original construction and use of the barrows, including burials, grave pits, burial goods, and the original ground surface can also be expected to survive as buried features beneath and between the mounds. The Ministry of Defence marker stars situated on the monument are excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath them is included.

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:

34149

Legacy System:

RSM

End of official list entry

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