Monument record MDO7905 - Bell barrow in the Godlingston Heath Group, Studland

Bell barrow 52 feet diameter, 4½ feet high with irregular berm 25 feet wide on north side, 15 feet wide on south and almost absent on east. Ditch 14 feet wide 6 inches to 2 feet deep on west and north and absent on south where line broken by adjacent barrow. The round barrow is visible as an earthwork on aerial photographs and lidar imagery on Godlingston Heath.

Three bell barrows, 'A' - SZ 00678200; 'B'-SZ 00728196; ''-SZ 00718193, on Godlingston Heath (see illustration card for measurements and profile of each barrow). A possible bowl barrow, 'D'-SZ 00698199, Impinges on the ditch of bell barrow 'A' (No measurements given). <2>

'A'-(33) - SZ 00688200. Bell (?)barrow, unusually irregular-shaped probably due to its position on a small natural knoll. The diameter is 52ft and 4½ft high with irregular berm 25ft wide on the north; 15ft wide on the south and almost absent on the east. The ditch is 14ft wide and 6 inches to 2ft deep on the west, but absent on the south where its line is interrupted by barrow 'D'. <4>

SZ 006821. Group of three round barrows on south edge of Godlingstone Heath. Scheduled. <5>

A Bronze Age round barrow is visible as an earthwork on aerial photographs and lidar imagery on Godlingston Heath. The barrow measures approximately 28 m in diameter and is surrounded by a ditch measuring up to 3 m in width. The barrow is scheduled in a group together with three others (see linked records). <7-9> These features were digitally plotted during the Wild Purbeck Mapping Project.

<1> Ordnance Survey, Ordnance Survey Map 6in, 1926-38 (Map). SWX1540.

('A', 'B','C' - Centred SZ 007820) Tumuli (NR)

<2> Colquhoun, F D, Field Investigators Comments FDC, F1 FDC 12-DEC-52 (Unpublished document). SWX2609.

<3> Grinsell, L V, 1959, Dorset Barrows, 164 (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, 452 (Monograph). SDO150.

<5> Department of the Environment, 1977, Department of the Environment (IAM) Ancient Monuments of England Vol 2, 69 (Monograph). SWX2300.

<6> Papworth, M D J, Trust for Wessex Archaeology, 1983, Isle of Purbeck Survey, IOP 102 (Index). SDO147.

‘Mound Diam. 15.8 and Ht.1.4m. Berm Diam. 28.0m Ditch diam. 36.8m. Width4.3m , depth 0.6m Situated on heathland, a prominent mound covered in gorse and bracken. The gorse is particularly dense on the west of the mound. The ditch and berm are clear but parts of the monument are inaccessible due to undergrowth. OS SZ08SW3C. 1/2/B.’

<7> Royal Air Force, 12-MAY-1946, RAF 3G/TUD/UK/206 PART I 5006-7 (Aerial Photograph). SDO13455.

<8> Royal Air Force, 04-NOV-1946, RAF/CPE/UK/1821 2398-99 (Aerial Photograph). SDO13465.

<9> Environment Agency, 2010, Lidar DTM (Aerial Photograph). SDO13148.

<10> National Record of the Historic Environment, 457531 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Jan 19 2024 4:28PM