Scheduled Monument: Bowl barrow on Summerlug Hill 250m south of Mannington Farm (SM29596)

EXTRACT FROM ENGLISH HERITAGE'S RECORD OF SCHEDULED MONUMENTS MONUMENT: Bowl barrow on Summerlug Hill 250m south of Mannington Farm PARISH: HOLT DISTRICT: EAST DORSET COUNTY: DORSET NATIONAL MONUMENT NO: 29596 NATIONAL GRID REFERENCE(S): SU06860483 DESCRIPTION OF THE MONUMENT The monument includes a bowl barrow on the top of Summerlug Hill 250m south of Mannington Farm. The barrow has a mound 22m in diameter and 1.4m high surrounded by a quarry ditch from which material to construct the mound was derived. This has become infilled over the years but will survive as a buried feature approximately 2m wide. The centre of the mound has been dug into relatively recently leaving a rectangular depression approximately 3.2m long by 2m wide and up to 0.5m deep. 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 on Summerlug Hill, despite having been damaged at its centre, is a well preserved example of its class and will contain archaeological remains providing information about Bronze Age beliefs, economy and environment. SCHEDULING HISTORY Monument included in the Schedule on 8th January 1931 as: COUNTY/NUMBER: Dorset 107 NAME: Round barrow on Summerlug Hill The reference of this monument is now: NATIONAL MONUMENT NUMBER: 29596 NAME: Bowl barrow on Summerlug Hill 250m south of Mannington Farm SCHEDULING AFFIRMED ON 29th April 1998

Record last edited

Feb 15 2017 1:56PM