Monument record MDO47824 - Bronze Age Barrow on Came Down, Winterborne Came

A bowl barrow, one of four excavated in the mid-19th century by Warne, whose locational information was somewhat imprecise, thus making identifcation difficult. This particular barrow, Warne's number 12, was described by him as a "mighty mound", and measuring more than 16 feet high and 90 feet in diameter. He published a section drawing of the mound, which shows a central cairn of flints capped with a large flat rough stone. A series of concentric circles had been incised into one surface of the stone.

A bowl barrow, one of four excavated in the mid-19th century by Warne, whose locational information was somewhat imprecise, thus making identifcation difficult. Grinsell listed this barrow as Winterborne Came 18b, without attempting to identify which, if any, of the known barrows it may be. RCHME suggested that the four barrows were probably to be identified among those recorded as SY 68 NE 76, 77, 80, 164-72. The barrows currently recorded as SY 68 NE 78, 79 and 110 must also be regarded as possibilities. This particular barrow, Warne's number 12, was described by him as a "mighty mound" close to SY 68 NE 87, and measuring more than 16 feet high and 90 feet in diameter. He published a section drawing of the mound, which shows a central cairn of flints capped with a large flat rough stone. A series of concentric circles had been incised into one surface of the stone. This cairn appears then to have been incorporated into a larger mound via the addition of earth and chalk. Subsequently, a second flint cairn was built directly on top of this mound, and again capped by a large flat stone bearing incised concentric circles. This secondary cairn and the primary barrow beneath were then covred in a layer of chalk, the entire larger mound then being covered further with an outer layer of earth. An "urn of coarse fabric" containing cremated human bone was found within the lower flint cairn, and on the original ground surface below it were "some few bones of the ox, and the remains of six skeletons, which had evidently been committed to their earthly inheritance without order or regularity." The date of the inhumations is unclear. The Early Bronze Age may be a safe bet, although an earlier date cannot be ruled out. This barrow was originally recorded as part of SY 68 NE 87. That record should be consulted for additional sources and further information. <1-3>

<1> Warne, C, 1866, The Celtic Tumuli of Dorset (1866), 36-38, MOPR 12 (Monograph). SWX8166.

<2> Grinsell, L V, 1959, Dorset Barrows, 148 (Monograph). SDO132.

<3> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), 1970, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume II (South East) Part 3, 438 (Monograph). SDO150.

<4> National Record of the Historic Environment, 1300126 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Feb 28 2024 6:49AM