Details

The monument includes a bowl barrow situated on a west facing hillside
overlooking the coastline on the south western part of the Isle of Wight.
The barrow has a mound which measures 13m in diameter and is c.1.2m high.
Surrounding the mound is a ditch from which material was quarried during its
construction. This has become infilled over the years and can no longer be
seen at ground level, but survives as a buried feature c.2.5m wide.
The mound was partially excavated by the Rev J Skinner in the 19th century,
who found two cremation burials, one of which was in a Bronze Age urn.

MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.
It includes a 2 metre boundary around the archaeological features,
considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.

Source: Historic England

Reasons for Scheduling

Round barrow cemeteries date to the Bronze Age (c.2000-700 BC). They comprise
closely-spaced groups of up to 30 round barrows - rubble or earthen mounds
covering single or multiple burials. Most cemeteries developed over a
considerable period of time, often many centuries, and in some cases acted as
a focus for burials as late as the early medieval period. They exhibit
considerable diversity of burial rite, plan and form, frequently including
several different types of round barrow, occasionally associated with earlier
long barrows. Where large scale investigation has been undertaken around them,
contemporary or later "flat" burials between the barrow mounds have often been
revealed. Round barrow cemeteries occur across most of lowland Britain, with a
marked concentration in Wessex. In some cases, they are clustered around other
important contemporary monuments such as henges. Often occupying prominent
locations, they are a major historic element in the modern landscape, whilst
their diversity and their longevity as a monument type provide important
information on the variety of beliefs and social organisation amongst early
prehistoric communities. They are particularly representative of their period
and a substantial proportion of surviving or partly-surviving examples are
considered worthy of protection.

Despite being partially excavated, the bowl barrow on Afton Down will contain
archaeological remains and environmental evidence relating to the barrow and
the landscape in which it was constructed.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
'Proceeding of the I.O.W. Nat History and Archaeological Soc' in Proceedings of the I.O.W. Nat History and Archaeological Society, , Vol. 1, (1929), 656
'Proceedings of the I.O.W. Nat History and Archaeological Soc' in Proceedings of the I.O.W. Nat History and Archaeological Society, , Vol. 3, (1940), 196-7

Source: Historic England