Monument record MDO838 - Bowl barrow, one of the Cheselbourne West Down Group, Cheselbourne

Bronze Age bowl barrow. In 1970 this monument was reported as being around 56 feet in diameter with a mound around 5 feet high. This may be one of six barrows in this area opened by antiquarian Charles Warne, who found cists filled with ashes in one, possibly cremation burials, and ashes in others. The site of this barrow is visible as low earthworks on lidar imagery and was digitally recorded during the Upper Cerne and Piddle Valley AIM project.

A bush covered bowl barrow, diameter 18.0 metres, height 1.1 metres. Much diminished by the plough. No trace of ditch or excavation and much burrowed by rabbits. <3>

A bowl barrow, Diameter 21 paces, height 5 ft. <4>

(SY 73969937). Bowl barrow, damaged by ploughing, 56ft diameter and 5ft high near the Piddletrenthide boundary. <5>

A contiguous barrow to the above, is shown (at SY 73979937), but not described on Celtic Fields (GP 45) map. <6>

SY 73979937. Bowl barrow, grass-covered and not ploughed over. Diameter 18.0 metres, height 2.4 metres. No visible ditch. There is no other barrow in the vicinity and no evidence of one on the air photograph. (a).
Re-surveyed at 1:2500 on M.S.D. <7>

The site of this barrow is visible as low earthworks on lidar imagery and was digitally recorded during the Upper Cerne and Piddle Valley AIM project. <9>

<1> Warne, C, 1866, The Celtic Tumuli of Dorset (1866) (Monograph). SWX8166.

<2> Ordnance Survey, Ordnance Survey Map 6in, 1903 (Map). SWX1540.

(SY 73969937) TUMULUS (NR)

<3> Swatridge, G C, Various, Field Investigators Comments GCS, F1 GCS 30-NOV-54 (Unpublished document). SWX1169.

<4> Grinsell, L V, 1959, Dorset Barrows, 100 (Monograph). SDO132.

‘Of six barrows in this area, on bdry. Of CHESELBOURNE and PIDDLETRENTHIDE parishes, opened by CW, all were devoid of interest to the excavator except one, which contained several cists filled with ashes, but no interments. CTD (mopr), no. 9, and Archa xxx, 334, nos. 20-25.’

<5> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), 1970, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume III (Central) Part 1, 79 (Monograph). SDO146.

‘Of sixteen round barrows in the parish, Monuments (24–29) and (30–33) form two small groups on Cheselbourne West Down; the remainder are widely dispersed. … Cheselbourne West Down Group 2 consists of the following four barrows which lie in arable on the spine of a ridge between 350 ft. and 400 ft. O.D., less than ½ m. N. of the previous group. … (30) Bowl (73969937), near the Piddletrenthide boundary, 600 yds. N.W. of (28); damaged by ploughing; diam. 56 ft., ht. 5 ft.’

<6> Royal Commission on Historic Monuments, 1970, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume III (Central) Part 2, Map (Monograph). SDO136.

<7> Barton, J G, Various, Field Investigators Comments JGB, F2 JGB 07-NOV-80 (Unpublished document). SDO11900.

<7.1> Ordnance Survey, 15-SEP-1979, OS 79/124/325 (Aerial Photograph). SDO19549.

<8> National Record of the Historic Environment, 454690 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

<9> Environment Agency, 15-DEC-2023, LIDAR Environment Agency DTM (Aerial Photograph). SDO20691.

Record last edited

Oct 16 2024 7:30PM