Scheduled Monument: Bowl barrow in Well Bottom Wood (1013255)

EXTRACT FROM ENGLISH HERITAGE'S RECORD OF SCHEDULED MONUMENTS MONUMENT: Bowl barrow in Well Bottom Wood PARISH: LITTLEBREDY WINTERBOURNE ABBAS DISTRICT: WEST DORSET COUNTY: DORSET NATIONAL MONUMENT NO: 22944 NATIONAL GRID REFERENCE(S): SY59479002 DESCRIPTION OF THE MONUMENT The monument includes a bowl barrow situated on a north facing chalk ridge of the South Dorset Downs, in the South Winterbourne valley. The barrow has a mound composed of earth, chalk and flint with a maximum diameter of 15m and a maximum height of c.1.5m. This is surrounded by a ditch from which material was quarried during the construction of the monument. The ditch is visible as an earthwork 2m wide on the eastern and north eastern sides; elsewhere it has become infilled over the years, but will survive as a buried feature. 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. The bowl barrow in Well Bottom Wood survives well and will contain archaeological and environmental evidence relating to the monument and the landscape in which it was constructed. This is one of a concentration of barrows to survive in this area, but one of a relatively small number not to be situated within a cemetery. SCHEDULING HISTORY Monument included in the Schedule on 31st October 1957 as: COUNTY/NUMBER: Dorset 322 NAME: Barrow in Wall Bottom Wood (sic) The reference of this monument is now: NATIONAL MONUMENT NUMBER: 22944 NAME: Bowl barrow in Well Bottom Wood SCHEDULING AFFIRMED ON 18th September 1996

Record last edited

Oct 15 2024 4:06PM