Monument record MDO7681 - Bronze Age bell barrow, Highwood Heath, East Stoke

A Bronze Age bell barrow, one of three situated on a low rise. In 1970 this monument was reported as being a mound about 9 feet high with a sloping berm, around 93 feet in diameter altogether, surrounded by a ditch about 10 feet wide. A circular mound is visible as an earthwork on aerial photographs and Lidar imagery of Highwood Heath, East Stoke. It is surrounded by an outer ditch and has a hollow in its centre. This feature is considered likely to be the remains of the Bronze Age bell barrow described above.

'A'. A large example of bell barrow, with berm 5yds. wide at SY 87038539. <2>

'A'. A bracken covered mound 29.0 metres in diameter and 2.8 metres high. The berm is 4.0 metres wide, and the surrounding ditch has an average width of 2.0 metres, and a depth of 0.5 metres. The top of the mound is flattened, but contains two square hollows each, 0.5 metres deep and with sides of 1.5 metres. Another similar hollow occurs in the north side of the barrow, and the spoil from this has been thrown into the extreme north part of the ditch. These excavations appear to be of a military nature. A bell barrow. No surface finds were made in the vicinity of these barrows during field perambulation. <3>

SY 866856 - SY 870854. Round barrows on Highwood Heath Scheduled. <5>

'A'. SY 87038538. Bell barrow, now completely overgrown with gorse and trees making close inspection impossible. Revised at 1:2500 on M.S.D. from above measurements. <6>

A circular mound, approximately 28.7m in diameter, is visible as an earthwork on aerial photographs <8> and Lidar imagery <9> of Highwood Heath, East Stoke. It is surrounded by an outer ditch, approximately 2m wide, and has a hollow in its centre. This feature is considered likely to be the remains of the Bronze Age bell barrow described above. It was digitally plotted during the Wild Purbeck Mapping Project.

<1> Ordnance Survey, Ordnance Survey Map 6in, 1930 (Map). SWX1540.

(SY 870398539) Tumulus (NR)

<2> Grinsell, L V, 1935-54, Dorset Barrows 1935-54 Manuscript (Unpublished document). SWX1556.

<3> Quinnell, N V, Various, Field Investigators Comments NVQ, F1 NVQ 03-SEP-52 (Unpublished document). SDO11903.

<4> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), 1970, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume II (South East) Part 3, 451 (Monograph). SDO150.

'Three barrows, including a bell, lie close together on a low rise on Highwood Heath (SY 88 NE) … (25) Bell (87038539) on summit of rise above 100 ft. contour 46 yds. S.S.E. of (24). Diam. of mound and sloping berm 93 ft., ht. 9 ft., with ditch 10 ft. wide and 2½ ft. deep.'

<5> Department of the Environment, 1977, Department of the Environment (IAM) Ancient Monuments of England Vol 2, 63 (Monograph). SWX2300.

<6> Barton, J G, Various, Field Investigators Comments JGB, F2 JGB 26-JUN-81 (Unpublished document). SDO11900.

<7> Royal Commission on Historic Monuments, Externally held archive: RCH01/093 RCHME Inventory: Dorset II (South-East) (Unpublished document). SDO17434.

<8> Royal Air Force, 04-NOV-1946, RAF/CPE/UK/1821 6412-13 (Aerial Photograph). SDO13211.

<9> Environment Agency, 2010, Lidar DSM (Aerial Photograph). SDO13147.

<10> National Record of the Historic Environment, 455208 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Oct 19 2023 11:13AM