Scheduled Monument: Bowl barrow north of Breeze Hill, 540m ESE of the top of Zig-Zag Hill (SM27350)

MONUMENT: Bowl barrow north of Breeze Hill, 540m ESE of the top of Zig-Zag Hill PARISH: MELBURY ABBAS DISTRICT: NORTH DORSET COUNTY: DORSET NATIONAL MONUMENT NO: 27350 NATIONAL GRID REFERENCE(S): ST89802055 DESCRIPTION OF THE MONUMENT The monument includes the remains of a Bronze Age ditched bowl barrow, part of a dispersed group of barrows on Breeze Hill on the northern part of Melbury Down. The barrow mound is now visible as a slight rise in the ground and was previously recorded as being c.13m in diameter. No trace of a ditch surrounding the mound is visible but a depression has previously been recorded on its north west side. The ditch now survives as a buried feature c.2m 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. Despite having been reduced in height by cultivation, the bowl barrow north of Breeze Hill 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 558 NAME: Round barrow north of Breeze Hill The reference of this monument is now: NATIONAL MONUMENT NUMBER: 27350 NAME: Bowl barrow north of Breeze Hill, 540m ESE of the top of Zig-Zag Hill SCHEDULING REVISED ON 19th April 1996

Record last edited

Oct 29 2014 12:30PM