Scheduled Monument: The Double Barrow, a bowl barrow in Kite Hill Plantation 250m south east (SM29054)

EXTRACT FROM ENGLISH HERITAGE'S RECORD OF SCHEDULED MONUMENTS MONUMENT: The Double Barrow, a bowl barrow in Kite Hill Plantation 250m south east of Roger's Hill Cottages PARISH: AFFPUDDLE DISTRICT: PURBECK COUNTY: DORSET NATIONAL MONUMENT NO: 29054 NATIONAL GRID REFERENCE(S): SY82089452 DESCRIPTION OF THE MONUMENT The monument includes a bowl barrow, known as the Double Barrow, situated at the western end of a ridge overlooking the Piddle Valley to the south and Bere Valley to the north. The barrow has a mound composed of sand, earth and turf, with maximum dimensions of 12m in diameter and c.1.8m in height. Surrounding the mound is a ditch from which material was quarried during the construction of the monument. The ditch has become infilled over the years, but will survive as a buried feature 1.5m wide. ASSESSMENT OF IMPORTANCE Bowl barrows, the most numerous form of round barrow, are funerary monuments dating from the Late Neolithic period to the Late Bronze Age, with most examples belonging to the period 2400-1500 BC. They were constructed as earthen or rubble mounds, sometimes ditched, which covered single or multiple burials. They occur either in isolation or grouped as cemeteries and often acted as a focus for burials in later periods. Often superficially similar, although differing widely in size, they exhibit regional variations in form and a diversity of burial practices. There are over 10,000 surviving bowl barrows recorded nationally (many more have already been destroyed), occurring across most of lowland Britain. Often occupying prominent locations, they are a major historic element in the modern landscape and their considerable variation of form and longevity as a monument type provide important information on the diversity of beliefs and social organisations amongst early prehistoric communities. They are particularly representative of their period and a substantial proportion of surviving examples are considered worthy of protection. The bowl barrow in Kite Hill Plantation survives well and will contain archaeological and environmental evidence relating to the monument and the landscape in which it was constructed. SCHEDULING HISTORY Monument included in the Schedule on 28th April 1961 as: COUNTY/NUMBER: Dorset 529 NAME: Double Barrow The reference of this monument is now: NATIONAL MONUMENT NUMBER: 29054 NAME: The Double Barrow, a bowl barrow in Kite Hill Plantation 250m south east of Roger's Hill Cottages SCHEDULING AFFIRMED ON 17th April 1997

Record last edited

May 27 2011 4:50AM