Monument record MWX1040 - Bowl Barrow on Sopley Common, Christchurch

A bowl barrow situated on a prominent knoll on Sopley Common. The barrow has a mound 20 metres in diameter and up to 1 metre high, partly truncated on its north west side when a fire break was cleared. The mound is surrounded by a quarry ditch which has become infilled over the years but will survive as a buried feature 2 metres wide. Seventy flint artefacts of Mesolithic date were found at the site in 1904-5 indicating that the barrow is built partly on top of a habitation site of that date. In addition, Mesolithic flint flakes, microliths and possible fragments of leaf arrowheads were found in 1976. The barrow is visible on 1940s aerial photographs and was digitally plotted during the Dorset Stour NMP.

Bowl barrow on Sopley Common, Lat 50o 46 34, Long 1o 49'0"; 22 paces diameter by 4 feet high. <1>

Bowl barrow at SZ 12939747, on top of a prominent knoll. Diameter 20,0 m., max height 1.0 m. The NW side has been cut away for a firebreak. Some stratification was observed in the section exposed. The mound carries a concrete triangulation block with bolt, formerly buried but now fully uncovered. Surveyed at 1:2500. <2>

A truncated barrow approx. 20 paces in diameter by 1 metre high, with a slightly concave top about 8 metres across. It is badly damaged and subject to further destruction by motor-cycle scrambling activities. Flint flakes of Mesolithic character, microliths and possible fragments of leaf arrowheads were found in 1976 in the disturbed part of the barrow. <3>

The barrow is visible on 1940s aerial photographs <5> and was digitally plotted during the Dorset Stour NMP.

<1> Grinsell, L V, 1940, Hampshire Barrows; Proceedings of the Hampshire Field Club and Archaeological Society 14, 361 (Article in serial). SWX3470.

<1.1> Local papers, archaeological and topographical, Hampshire, Dorset and Wiltshire, 42 (Article in serial). SWX3926.

<2> Phillips, A S, Various, Field Investigators Comments ASP, F1 ASP 02-APR-69 (Unpublished document). SWX3817.

<3> Aitken, P, 1976, A Survey of the Archaeological Sites On Sopley Common, Dorset, 3 (Unpublished document). SWX3841.

<4> DCMS, 1997, Scheduled Monument Notification 1997, 25/09/1997 (Scheduling record). SDO17426.

<5> Royal Air Force, 28-MAY-47, RAF/CPE/UK/2102 RS 4282-3 (Aerial Photograph). SDO15554.

<6> Jefferies, Jeff, 1999, The Barrows of Christchurch. Their Past, Present and Future, Appendix 1. Barrow Record 31 (Unpublished document). SDO20590.

<7> National Record of the Historic Environment, 458502 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Mar 20 2024 1:00PM