Scheduled Monument: Three bowl barrows on Tulk's Hill 800m north of East Bexington Farm (1016374)

EXTRACT FROM ENGLISH HERITAGE'S RECORD OF SCHEDULED MONUMENTS MONUMENT: Three bowl barrows on Tulk's Hill 800m north of East Bexington Farm PARISH: PUNCKNOWLE DISTRICT: WEST DORSET COUNTY: DORSET NATIONAL MONUMENT NO: 29579 NATIONAL GRID REFERENCE(S): SY54818666 DESCRIPTION OF THE MONUMENT The monument includes three bowl barrows in a prominent location on the top of Tulk's Hill, 800m north of East Bexington Farm. The western barrow has a mound, 15m in diameter and 1.5m high, which has had a trench, 2m wide, excavated into it from the south, opening out into a central hollow, 4m in diameter and 0.7m deep. This is said to result from an unrecorded amateur excavation carried out before World War II. The central barrow has a mound, 18m in diameter and 1.5m high, and the eastern barrow has a mound, 10m in diameter and 0.3m high. All are surrounded by quarry ditches from which material was excavated during their construction, now visible as slight depressions up to 3m wide. 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 barrows on Tulk's Hill 800m north of East Bexington Farm are well preserved examples of their class and will contain archaeological remains providing information about Bronze Age burial practices, economy and environment. SCHEDULING HISTORY Monument included in the Schedule on 19th December 1958 as: COUNTY/NUMBER: Dorset 377 NAME: Two Round Barrows on Tulk's Hill The reference of this monument is now: NATIONAL MONUMENT NUMBER: 29579 NAME: Three bowl barrows on Tulk's Hill 800m north of East Bexington Farm SCHEDULING REVISED ON 22nd December 1997

Record last edited

Oct 7 2024 1:52PM