Bowl barrow on Culverswell Hill

Summary

A large Bronze Age bowl barrow situated on the end of an eastward facing spur of Culverswell about 200m north-west of Culver’s Well.

Reasons for Designation

The bowl barrow on Culverswell Hill is scheduled for the following principal reasons:

* Survival: a good example of a Bronze Age bowl barrow that is considered to survive well in the form of earthworks and buried archaeological features;

* Potential: for archaeological deposits and artefacts, as well as environmental and ecofactual material, which will contribute to our understanding of beliefs, burial practices, social organisation, settlement and land use amongst early prehistoric communities;

* Group value: for its close proximity to other related and likely contemporary scheduled monuments such as two bowl barrows approximately 300m to the south-west (NHLE 1011032), another two bowl barrows approximately 450m to the north (NHLE 1008885), and a triple bell barrow approximately 650m to the south (NHLE 1008850).

History

Barrows, sometimes described as tumuli on early maps, are mounds of earth and/ or stone (stone examples are often called cairns) of various shapes and sizes that are characteristic earthwork monuments of the prehistoric periods. Barrows were amongst the earliest of monuments recognised by antiquarians who dug into many during the C18 and C19 in the mistaken belief that they contained treasures. In fact, rich grave goods are rare and when excavated most barrows contain a few relatively mundane objects. Human burials were sometimes encountered and consequently these mounds were often considered to be the burial places of prominent people. There was a focus on this burial aspect throughout the C20 but, increasingly, the complexity of the features beneath the mound rendered any simple explanation of function inappropriate.

Round barrows have a considerable pedigree with origins dating to before 5,000 years ago (3000 BC). As our Introduction to Heritage Assets on Prehistoric Barrows and Burial Grounds (October 2018) explains, the main period of round barrow construction occurred between about 4,000 and 3,500 years ago (2000-1500 BC). They occur either in isolation or groups and often acted as a focus for burials in later periods. Subtleties on the surface only rarely allow different forms to be distinguished and most occur as simple amorphous swellings. The most common type is referred to as a bowl barrow. These are inverted pudding bowl-shaped mounds with slopes of varying profile, sometimes with a surrounding ditch and occasionally an outer bank. They might reach over 40m in diameter and as much as 4m in height, although much smaller versions can occur that measure just 5m or 6m across. Nonetheless, most barrow mounds have been damaged and large numbers have been partly or completely levelled by agriculture, which make those surviving as earthworks all the more important. Barrows remain one of the main sources of information about life in the prehistoric periods.

The barrow on Culverswell Hill was identified in 1979 (see Lay Lines Decoded website in Sources) and recorded by the Bronze Age specialist Stuart Needham in 1981, subsequently appearing in a publication in 1987 (see sources). It is shown on aerial photographs and recent (2022) LiDAR survey data. The barrow is approximately 200m north-west of Culvers Well, a spring shown on the earliest detailed OS map (1:2500) of 1872. The barrow is situated nearby several scheduled monuments: two bowl barrows approximately 300m to the south-west (National Heritage List for England 1011032), another two bowl barrows approximately 450m to the north (NHLE 1008885), and a triple bell barrow approximately 650m to the south (NHLE 1008850).

Details

PRINCIPAL ELEMENTS
A large Bronze Age bowl barrow situated on the end of an eastward facing spur of Culverswell about 200m north-west of Culver’s Well.

DESCRIPTION
The Bronze Age bowl barrow survives as a roughly circular mound with a surrounding ditch. The mound is approximately 27m in diameter and 2m high. It has been slightly mutilated near the top probably due to a trench from previous exploration. The ditch is evident as a shallow depression surrounding the mound and is approximately 3m wide at the top and varies from about 0.2m to 0.4m deep.

EXTENT OF SCHEDULING
The scheduled area includes a 2m margin around the barrow for its support and protection.

Sources

Books and journals
Needham, S, The Bronze Age, (1987), 127

Websites
Mike Peer. Lay Lines Decoded, accessed 2 March 2022 from https://www.leylinesdecoded.co.uk/crooksbury-line/culverswell-barrow/ ?

Other
1872 OS map (1:2500)
Surrey Historic Environment Record Number 3796 - MSE 3796
Historic England Introductions to Heritage Assets: Prehistoric Barrows and Burial Mounds (2018). Available at: https://historicengland.org.uk/images-books/publications/iha-prehistoric-barrows-burial-mounds/

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