Details

The monument, which falls into two separate areas of protection, includes two bowl barrows, situated on the coastal promontory of Hengistbury Head, overlooking Christchurch Harbour. The barrows survive as circular mounds surrounded by buried quarry ditches, from which their construction material was derived. The northern mound is up to 13m in diameter and 1m high and the southern mound is up to 40m in diameter and 1m high.

Further archaeological remains in the vicinity are the subject of separate schedulings.

Sources: PastScape 458625 and 458628

Source: Historic England

Reasons for Scheduling

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. 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. The two bowl barrows 405m north west of Barn Cottage, Hengistbury Head survive comparatively well and will contain archaeological and environmental evidence relating to their construction, relative chronologies, territorial significance, social organisation, ritual and funerary practices and overall landscape context.

Source: Historic England