Scheduled Monument: Bowl barrow in Throop Clump, 450m west of Heatherdown (1020734)

EXTRACT FROM ENGLISH HERITAGE'S RECORD OF SCHEDULED MONUMENTS MONUMENT: Bowl barrow in Throop Clump, 450m west of Heatherdown PARISH: AFFPUDDLE DISTRICT: PURBECK COUNTY: DORSET NATIONAL MONUMENT NO: 35237 NATIONAL GRID REFERENCE(S): SY82489241 DESCRIPTION OF THE MONUMENT The monument includes a bowl barrow situated on a low ridge overlooking the Piddle Valley to the north. The barrow has a mound composed of earth, sand and turf, with maximum dimensions of 20m in diameter and about 1.2m in height. The mound has a central depression 4m in diameter and a series of military trenches within the north eastern area although all are now much infilled. Surrounding the mound is a quarry ditch from which material was quarried during the construction of the monument. This ditch is visible as an earthwork 5m wide and about 0.5m deep and is overlain by a boundary bank on the south west side. The bank is of uncertain date and its course beyond the monument is, therefore, not included in the scheduling. All fence posts are excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath them is included. ASSESSMENT OF IMPORTANCE 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. Despite some disturbance by past excavation, the bowl barrow in Throop Clump, 450m west of Heatherdown survives comparatively well and will contain archaeological and environmental evidence relating to the monument and the landscape in which it was constructed. SCHEDULING HISTORY Monument included in the Schedule on 14th September 1962 as: COUNTY/NUMBER: Dorset 616 NAME: Round barrow in Throop Clump The reference of this monument is now: NATIONAL MONUMENT NUMBER: 35237 NAME: Bowl barrow in Throop Clump, 450m west of Heatherdown SCHEDULING AFFIRMED ON 24th July 2002

Record last edited

Sep 12 2024 9:37AM