Scheduled Monument: Two bowl barrows 165m west of Veiny Cheese Pond (SM27471)

EXTRACT FROM ENGLISH HERITAGE'S RECORD OF SCHEDULED MONUMENTS MONUMENT: Two bowl barrows 165m west of Veiny Cheese Pond PARISH: LONG CRICHEL DISTRICT: EAST DORSET COUNTY: DORSET NATIONAL MONUMENT NO: 27471 NATIONAL GRID REFERENCE(S): ST96241166 DESCRIPTION OF THE MONUMENT The monument includes two bowl barrows on a south east facing slope, 165m west of Veiny Cheese Pond, part of a dispersed group of barrows scattered on the western side of the Crichel Valley. The northern barrow has a mound c.25m in diameter and 0.3m high. The second barrow, c.55m to the south east, has a mound 27m diameter and 0.3m high. Surrounding each mound is a quarry ditch from which material was excavated during their construction. These have become infilled over the years but survive as buried features c.3m wide. An additional barrow 80m to the north west is the subject of a separate scheduling. 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 barrows 165m west of Veiny Cheese Farm, despite being reduced in height by ploughing, form part of a dispersed group, and will contain archaeological remains providing information about Bronze Age burial practices, economy and environment. MONUMENT INCLUDED IN THE SCHEDULE ON 03rd July 1997

Record last edited

Feb 15 2017 9:51AM