Monument record MDO8012 - Bronze Age pond barrow, Ballard Down, Swanage

A possible Bronze Age pond barrow is visible as an earthwork on aerial photographs on Ballard Down. The barrow is the northernmost of a group of three round barrows situated on Ballard Down. The barrow survives as an earthwork comprising a circular depression 10 metres in diameter and 0.5 metres deep, surrounded by an outer bank one metre wide and 0.2 metres high. In 1967 finds including pottery, burnt bone and shale were recovered from the area of the outer bank by E E Harrison. The finds are held in the Dorset Museum.

SZ 03988132. A pond barrow with enclosed area of 33 feet in diameter by 2 1/2 feet deep and outer bank 12 feet wide x 1 foot high. Excavated by J H Austen in 1857 but with no result. <2-4> <6> Grass covered pond barrow consisting of a circular hollow 11.5 metres in diameter and 1.2 metres deep. <5> Pond barrow, recently ploughed. Pieces of pottery, burnt bone and shale were picked up from the surface in the southeast sector of the barrow by E.E. Harrison in 1967. From their position they appeared to have come from the bank of the barrrow. <7> SZ 03988133. A circular depression, 33 feet across and 3 feet deep with an irregular bank is more likely to be a pond than a pond barrow (but see Authority 7). <8> No change to Authority 8 but National Grid Reference should read - SZ 03988132; Barrow on grassland, in good condition, 117m OD.Surveyed at 1:2500. <10> One of a group of three round barrows situated on Ballard Down. The pond barrow is the northern most barrow of the three and survives as a circular depression 10 metres in diameter and 0.5 metres deep, surrounded by an outer bank one metre wide and 0.2 metres high. In 1967 finds including pottery, burnt bone and shale were recovered from the area of the outer bank by E E Harrison. The finds are held in the Dorset Museum. <12> A possible Bronze Age pond barrow is visible as an earthwork on aerial photographs <13> on Ballard Down. The barrow is the northernmost of a group of three (see linked records). The barrow is formed of a low mound measuring 9 m in diameter, surrounded by a narrow ditch and a bank, measuring up to 1.5 m in width. This site was digitally plotted during the South West Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey (Dorset).

Record last edited

Apr 14 2023 6:25PM