Summary

Bowl barrow 70m north of Forston Barn.

Source: Historic England

Details

This record was the subject of a minor enhancement on 26 January 2016. This record has been generated from an "old county number" (OCN) scheduling record. These are monuments that were not reviewed under the Monuments Protection Programme and are some of our oldest designation records.

This monument includes a bowl barrow situated on the south facing slopes of the prominent Cowdon Hill overlooking the valley of the River Cerne and the dry valley of Forston Field Bottom. The barrow survives as a circular mound measuring approximately 16m in diameter and 0.4m high surrounded by a buried quarry ditch from which the construction material was derived.

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. Despite reduction in the height of the mound through past cultivation the bowl barrow 70m north of Forston Barn survives comparatively well and will retain archaeological and environmental evidence relating to its construction, longevity, territorial significance, social organisation, funerary and ritual practices and overall landscape context.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
PastScape Monument No:-452883

Source: Historic England