Monument record MDO8242 - Bowl barrow, West Lulworth

One of two barrows marked on the OS 1st Edition map. They are visible as low earthworks on aerial photographs taken in 1946 and have since been plough-levelled.

Two bowl barrows aligned north east by south west, situated below the crest of a ridge overlooking St Oswald's Bay to the south. The barrows were recorded by the Ordnance Survey in 1903, LV Grinsell in 1959 and the RCHME in 1970. Each has a mound composed of earth and chalk, with maximum dimensions of 30 metres and 35 metres in diameter and about 0.5 metres in height. The larger mound is to the west. Surround each mound is a quarry ditch. These have become infilled over the years, but each will survive as a buried feature 2 metres wide. The western barrow was partially excavated in 1916 by Mr VP Kitchin and Captain DA Brownsword. Their investigation uncovered an urn containing the cremated remains of an adult woman. The urn was situated within a cavity in natural clay with flints; it was surrounded by a lining of ash and lay beneath a triangular flat stone which was associated with sheep bones.


A) & B). Both bowl barrows, under the plough. <2>

'A' - Flinty mound, much spread by ploughing. Its diameter is 26.0 metres, and height 0.4 metres. There is no visible berm, or ditch, and no surface finds were made in the vicinity. This bowl barrow is at present under crops. <3>

'A' - (38) - SY 80638134. Bowl (?) barrow, ploughed almost flat. <4>

SY 806816, SY 805812, SY 800811. Round barrows north west of NewlandsFarm. Scheduled. <5>

Both bowl barrows have been ploughed out. <6>

One of two barrows marked on the OS 1st Edition map. They are visible as low earthworks on aerial photographs taken in 1946 <9-10> and have since been plough-levelled.

The mounds lie in the vicinity of a number of small chalk pits and associated spoil heaps (MWX3974), some of which appear as chalk mounds of similar appearance to the barrows on the latest Google earth imagery. It is uncertain how many are barrows and how many spoil heaps. The features were digitally plotted during the Wild Purbeck Mapping Project.

<1> Ordnance Survey, Ordnance Survey Map 6in, 1903 (Map). SWX1540.

('A'-SY 80628134; 'B'-SY 80498128) Tumuli (NR)

<2> Quinnell, N V, Various, Field Investigators Comments NVQ, F1 NVQ 10-JUL-52 (Unpublished document). SDO11903.

<3> Quinnell, N V, Various, Field Investigators Comments NVQ, F2 NVQ 05-SEP-52 (Unpublished document). SDO11903.

<5> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), 1970, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume II (South East) Part 3, 446 (Monograph). SDO150.

<6> Department of the Environment, 1977, Department of the Environment (IAM) Ancient Monuments of England Vol 2, 71 (Monograph). SWX2300.

<7> Attrill, N J, Field Investigators Comments NJA, F3 NJA 27-AUG-81 (Unpublished document). SDO14743.

<8> Royal Commission on Historic Monuments, Externally held archive: RCH01/093 RCHME Inventory: Dorset II (South-East) (Unpublished document). SDO17434.

<9> Royal Air Force, 04-NOV-1946, RAF/CPE/UK/1821 2436-7 (Aerial Photograph). SDO13742.

<10> Royal Air Force, 18-FEB-1970, RAF 58/0254 0004-5 (Aerial Photograph). SDO13743.

<11> National Record of the Historic Environment, 455599 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Oct 25 2023 2:35PM