Summary

Two bowl barrows, 725m south-west of Opera House.

Source: Historic England

Details

This record was the subject of a minor enhancement on 26 February 2015. 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.

The monument includes two bowl barrows situated near the summit of a ridge of chalk downland on the northern edge of the South Downs. The barrow to the north is most prominent and survives as a circular mound, measuring 9m in diameter and up to 0.9m high. The surrounding quarry ditch from which material to construct the mound was derived is up to about 1.5m wide. There is a slight depression in the centre of the mound, which is the result of an unrecorded partial excavation in the early 1800s. The barrow 22m to the south survives as a circular mound, measuring 6.5m in diameter and up to 0.9m high. It also has a slight depression in the centre and evidence of an outer ditch of about 1.5m width.

The barrow to the north was opened in 1916 and produced two coins of 1805 and squared blocks of clunch used as backfill from the earlier excavation in the 1800s. The barrows have traditionally been associated with Anglo-Saxon inhumations and a Bronze Age cinerary urn was uncovered during excavations in the early 1800s. However the exact location of these finds is uncertain.

Further archaeological remains survive within the vicinity of this monument. Some such as a quadrilateral enclosure are scheduled, but others are not because they have not been formally assessed.

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 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 disturbance from partial excavation in the past, the two bowl barrows, 725m south-west of Opera House, survive well. They will contain archaeological information and environmental evidence relating to the barrows and the landscape in which they were constructed.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
East Sussex HER MES1578. NMR TQ41SW12. PastScape 406530.

Source: Historic England