Monument record MDO7045 - Bronze Age round barrow, Middlebere Heath, Arne

The possible remains of a small Bronze Age round barrow located on Middlebere Heath, crossed by a later enclosure bank. Shown on first edition Ordnance Survey map of 1805. A mound is visible here as an earthwork on aerial photographs. It is considered likely to be the remains of the possible Bronze Age round barrow.

Situated at SY 94788514 is a circular mound with a diameter of 12.0m. and a height of 1.2m. There are no traces of a
ditch or berm. An old field bank crosses over the north-west side. Gorse and heather covered. Possibly a bowl barrow. <1>

SY 94778514. Mound, possible small bowl barrow, on OS 1" 1811 (no dimensions given). Crossed by boundary bank. <3>

A mound, appoximately 15.7m in dimeter, is visible as an earthworks on aerial photographs of Middlebere Heath, Arne <6>. It is considered likely to be the remains of the possible Bronze Age round barrow described above. This feature was digitally plotted during the Wild Purbeck Mapping Project. It is not visible on the most recent Google Earth imagery.

<1> Rigg, J, Field Investigators Comments JR, F1 JR 30-JUL-52 (Unpublished document). SWX1255.

<2> Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1956, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society for 1954, 79 (Serial). SDO54.

<3> Grinsell, L V, 1959, Dorset Barrows, 86 (Monograph). SDO132.

<4> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), 1970, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume II (South East) Part 3, 435 (Monograph). SDO150.

<5> Papworth, M, 1992, Middlebere, Corfe Castle Estate, Dorset. Wessex Region, 16 (Unpublished document). SWX1394.

A probable Bronze Age round barrow on Hartland Moor is visible as a low rise 12m dia. and 1.2m high it has no encircling visible ditch. It is crossed by a bank and ditch. The ditch cuts the north side of the barrow and marks the Estate boundary. The site is called the Hartknoll barrow and is shown on both Treswell’s map (1586) and Woodward’s map (1775). Visited on 28/10/1987.

<6> Royal Air Force, 20-OCT-1971, RAF 39/3812 177-78 (Aerial Photograph). SDO13520.

<7> National Record of the Historic Environment, 456687 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Mar 28 2025 3:09PM