Monument record MDO47630 - Bowl barrow, Lodge Hill, Canford Heath, Poole

Bowl Barrow on the southern edge of Canford heath, destroyed by gravel extraction after complete excavation in 1951. The mound was made from sand and gravel and had been surrounded and possibly retained by a penannular post ring. No trace of human remains survived. The barrow is visible as a low indistinct mound covered by scrubby heathland vegetation on 1940's aerial photographs and was digitally plotted from these sources by the Dorset Stour NMP project.

NMP SUMMARY: A ditched bowl barrow on Canford Heath, damaged with a hollow on top. The barrow is visible on current Lidar imagery and was digitally plotted from this source by the Dorset Stour NMP project. The barrow at SZ 04229511, threatened by gravel-working, was excavated in June/July 1951 for the Ministry of Works. The mound was 30' in diameter and 3-4' high.It was composed of sand and gravel; there was no encircling quarry ditch. The mound had been surrounded and possibly retained by a pennanular post-ring, with on the south-east an entrance way flanked by posts. "At the centre a shallow excavation (grave?) had been made into the original ground surface, the upcast gravel and turf being neatly placed in separate heaps nearby. In the body of the barrow was part of a tree-trunk approximately 3'6" long. It is possible that it had been used as a bier, or to carry material for building the mound. No human remains were found". This was possibly due to the acidity of the soil. <2> Full report of 1951 excavation. <3> Described as a "henge-type" barrow. This bowl barrow has been destroyed with the extension of the gravel pit. The foreman remembered the 1951 excavation but knew of no further finds from the pit. <4> A heather covered bowl barrow, diameter 15.0m., height 1.0m. Around the west and south-west quadrants there is a ditch which averages 1.3m. Wide and 0.2m. Deep. There is a small hole in the top of the mound. <7> The barrow is visible on current Lidar imagery <7>. The feature comprises a slightly elliptical mound 14.6m long by 10.5m wide. A cresentic partial ditch between 1m and 1.6m wide is visible on its south-west side. The feature is located on the edge of a low south-facing scarp and is bounded on its north side by a vehicular access road, which may slightly truncate it. The feature was digitally plotted from current Lidar imagery by the Dorset Stour NMP project. Description from record MDO6745: The barrow at SZ 04229511, threatened by gravel-working, was excavated in June/July 1951 for the Ministry of Works. The mound was 30' in diameter and 3-4' high.It was composed of sand and gravel; there was no encircling quarry ditch. The mound had been surrounded and possibly retained by a pennanular post-ring, with on the south-east an entrance way flanked by posts. "At the centre a shallow excavation (grave?) had been made into the original ground surface, the upcast gravel and turf being neatly placed in separate heaps nearby. In the body of the barrow was part of a tree-trunk approximately 3'6" long. It is possible that it had been used as a bier, or to carry material for building the mound. No human remains were found". This was possibly due to the acidity of the soil. <1> Described as a "henge-type" barrow. This bowl barrow has been destroyed with the extension of the gravel pit. The foreman remembered the 1951 excavation but knew of nofurther finds from the pit. <2> Full report of 1951 excavation. <3> A round barrow on Canford Heath, which was competely excavated in 1951, in advance of gravel quarrying. The mound of the barrow was 30 feet in diameter and between 3 and 4 feet high and had evidently been built of sand and gravel collected in the vicinity as there was no encircling quarry ditch. It had been surrounded and possibly retained by a penannular post ring. At the centre a shallow excavation (grave?) had been made in the original ground surface, the upcast gravel and turf being neatly placed in separate heaps nearby. In the body of the barrow was part of a tree trunk approximately 3ft 6ins long. It is possible that it had been used as a bier or to carry material for the mound. No human remains were found, but as the barrow showed no sign of previous disturbance it is possible that it held an unaccompanied cremation all traces of which have been dissolved in the acid soil. <1-4> The barrow is visible as a low indistinct mound 10.8m in diameter and covered by scrubby heathland vegetation on 1940s aerial photographs. <5>. It was digitally plotted from these sources by the Dorset Stour NMP project.

Record last edited

Dec 28 2023 4:43PM