Scheduled Monument: Three bowl barrows 230m south west of Haywards Farm (1015333)

EXTRACT FROM ENGLISH HERITAGE'S RECORD OF SCHEDULED MONUMENTS MONUMENT: Three bowl barrows 230m south west of Haywards Farm PARISH: BERE REGIS DISTRICT: PURBECK COUNTY: DORSET NATIONAL MONUMENT NO: 28397 NATIONAL GRID REFERENCE(S): SY81939647 DESCRIPTION OF THE MONUMENT The monument includes three bowl barrows, aligned broadly north west-south east, situated on the crest of a north east facing slope of the Bere valley. The barrows form part of a wider group of 11 which, together, form a round barrow cemetery on Roke Down. The barrows each have a mound composed of earth, flint and chalk, with maximum dimensions of between 20m-22m in diameter and 0.5m in height. Each mound is surrounded by a ditch from which material was quarried during the construction of the monument. The ditches have become infilled over the years, but each will survive as a buried feature about 2m wide. Excluded from the scheduling are all fence posts, although the ground beneath them is included. ASSESSMENT OF IMPORTANCE Round barrow cemeteries date to the Bronze Age (c.2000-700 BC). They comprise closely-spaced groups of up to 30 round barrows - rubble or earthen mounds covering single or multiple burials. Most cemeteries developed over a considerable period of time, often many centuries, and in some cases acted as a focus for burials as late as the early medieval period. They exhibit considerable diversity of burial rite, plan and form, frequently including several different types of round barrow, occasionally associated with earlier long barrows. Where large scale investigation has been undertaken around them, contemporary or later "flat" burials between the barrow mounds have often been revealed. Round barrow cemeteries occur across most of lowland Britain, with a marked concentration in Wessex. In some cases, they are clustered around other important contemporary monuments such as henges. Often occupying prominent locations, they are a major historic element in the modern landscape, whilst their diversity and their longevity as a monument type provide important information on the variety of beliefs and social organisation amongst early prehistoric communities. They are particularly representative of their period and a substantial proportion of surviving or partly-surviving examples are considered worthy of protection. Bowl barrows are the most numerous form of round barrow, with over 10,000 examples recorded nationally. They were constructed as earthen or rubble mounds, each covering single or multiple burials. Despite some reduction by ploughing, the three bowl barrows 230m south west of Haywards Farm survive comparatively well and will contain archaeological and environmental evidence relating to the monument and the landscape in which it was constructed. MONUMENT INCLUDED IN THE SCHEDULE ON 09th March 2001

Record last edited

Jan 20 2025 11:24AM