Scheduled Monument: Bowl barrow on the south west slope of Breeze Hill, Melbury Down (SM27351)

MONUMENT: Bowl barrow on the south west slope of Breeze Hill, Melbury Down PARISH: MELBURY ABBAS DISTRICT: NORTH DORSET COUNTY: DORSET NATIONAL MONUMENT NO: 27351 NATIONAL GRID REFERENCE(S): ST89221961 DESCRIPTION OF THE MONUMENT The monument includes the levelled remains of a Bronze Age ditched bowl barrow on the south west slope of Breeze Hill on Melbury Down. The barrow mound was previously recorded as being c.8m in diameter. Surrounding this and surviving as a buried feature approximately 2m wide is the barrow ditch from which was quarried material to construct the mound. 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. Despite having been reduced in height by cultivation, the bowl barrow on the south west slope of Breeze Hill on Melbury Down will contain archaeological remains, providing information about Bronze Age burial practices, economy and environment. SCHEDULING HISTORY Monument included in the Schedule on 12th July 1961 as: COUNTY/NUMBER: Dorset 559 NAME: Round barrow on Melbury Down The reference of this monument is now: NATIONAL MONUMENT NUMBER: 27351 NAME: Bowl barrow on the south west slope of Breeze Hill, Melbury Down SCHEDULING REVISED ON 19th April 1996

Record last edited

Sep 13 2011 9:39AM