Monument record MDO8621 - Barrow 4, Hengistbury Head, Bournemouth

An elongated mound bisected by a road, probably a mutilated round barrow. It was excavated by St George Gray in 1919. No trace of any burials or pottery were discovered. A Collared urn found in 1958 may be the remains of a secondary burial. The possible remains of the barrow are visible as earthworks on aerial photographs of 1945.

Appears to be a Long Barrow. <1> Excavated by H St G Gray in 1918. Non-sepulchral. Finds in Taunton. Excavation unpublished. <3> An elongated mound cut in two by a wall. N-S 22.0m, E-W 17.0m. Grass-covered and with no visible ditch. More likely to be a misshapen or mutilated 'round' barrow than a true Long Barrow. <4> No change. Published 1:2500 survey revised. A Middle Bronze Age collared urn was found in 1958 during trenching for a telegraph cable, which skirted this barrow and that adjacent on its east side. It therefore almost certainly came from one of them. In Red House Museum. (5) Barrow 4 (St George Gray Barrow B) an oval mound which was originally a round barrow, excavated by St George Gray in 1919. No burials or pottery were recovered. Worked flint including a scraper were recovered. The urn recovered from the telephone cable is now thought to be a secondary burial from this barrow. The urn is of Longworth's Primary Series, Form Bi. <6> A probable round barrow surviving as a mutilated elongated mound about 22m by 17m, which is bisected by a road. It is grass covered with no visible sign of a ditch. It was excavated by St George Gray in 1919 (Mound B). No burials or pottery were recovered. 191 flints were recovered from the buried ground surface and base of the barrow. (1)(2) The possible remains of the barrow are visible as earthworks on aerial photographs of 1945 <9-10>. A sub-oval mound and two short lengths of bank are visible over an area measuring 23 m by 13 m. The site is not visible on the most recent comprehensive aerial imagery available to the project. <11> This site was digitally plotted during the South West rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey (Dorset).

Record last edited

Feb 9 2024 6:46PM