Monument record MDO5818 - Bowl barrow, Long Crichel

A bowl barrow recorded as being a mound around 60 feet in diameter and three feet high. This barrow was excavated by S and C M Piggott in the 1930s, revealing two concentric ditches, one entirely under the mound, interpreted as at least two phases of construction.

A bowl barrow, one of several scattered around the west side of the Crichel valley, to the west of Veiny Cheese Pond. It is one of two barrows (see also ST 91 SE 57) which appear to have influenced the course of the later linear earthwork ST 91 SW 40. The barrow was excavated in 1938 by S and CM Piggott. At the time, the barrow measured 81 feet in diameter and 3.2 feet in height.

The excavation revealed two concentric sub-circular ditches a maximum of about 5 feet apart. The outer ditch, circa 72 feet in diameter, underlay the extreme edge of the spread mound. The inner ditch, circa 52 feet in diameter and deeper and more regularly cut than the outer, cut through an earlier pit on the eastern side. The pit contained sherds of several Beakers. The core of the mound, circa 28 feet in diameter, appeared to comprise of turf. Surrounding and partly beneath this mound was an area of disturbed soil circa 7 feet wide. At the centre of the barrow, beneath the mound, was an oval grave-pit aligned North-South and measuring 7 feet by 5 feet. It had been dug 9 feet down into the chalk, and was filled with chalk rubble, at the base of which was a crouched inhumation, at the feet of which were some bones from an adult pig (a "forequarter of pork", according to the Piggotts).

The published plan appears to show another smaller pit adjacent to and cut by the grave pit, but this feature is not described in the excavation report. Additional Beaker sherds were found within the mound.

This barrow was originally recorded as part of ST 91 SE 57.

<1> Piggott, Stuart, and Piggott, C M, 1944, 'Excavation of Barrows on Crichel and Launceston Downs, Dorset'; Archaeologia 90, Volume 90, p47-80. Piggott, S and CM. Excavation of Barrows on Crichel and Launceston Downs, Dorset. (Article in serial). SDO16772.

<2> Grinsell, L V, 1959, Dorset Barrows, p119 (Monograph). SDO132.

<3> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), 1975, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume V (East), 39-40 (Monograph). SDO129.

'Seven barrows are scattered on the W. side of the Crichel valley, W. of Veiny Cheese Pond; they lie at about 200 ft. above O.D., mostly on a gentlre S.E. slope. All have been damaged or levelled by ploughing and three of them (18-20) have been completely removed by excavation. Two barrows ((17) and (18)) lie close to a linear dyke (Tarrant Launceston (16), Dorset IV, 106), and appear to have determined its alignment at the E. end. … (18) Bowl (96171149), excavated by S. and C. M. Piggott in 1938 (op. cit.), comprised a mound about 60 ft. across and 3 ft. high, associated with two concentric ditches; the latter suggest two structural phases. The inner ditch, which was deeper and more carefully cut than the outer, measured 52 ft. across overall and lay entirely under the mound; it had cut an earlier pit containing fragments of several beakers. The outer ditch lay no more than 5 ft. outside it and measured about 72 ft. across overall. A grave shaft at the centre of the barrow was cut nearly 9 ft. into the chalk and contained a primary crouched inhumation associated with pig bones. A quantity of beaker sherds was found scattered throughout the mound (Piggott, 11).'

<4> English Heritage, English Heritage Alternative Action Report, SJ Lobb, MPPA, Mar-2000 (Scheduling record). SDO18279.

<5> National Record of the Historic Environment, 1304946 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Dec 12 2024 4:35PM