Details

The monument includes two bowl barrows aligned north west-south east and
forming part of a wider cemetery situated on the crest of a prominent chalk
ridge. The mounds have diameters of 27m and 22m and are 2.2m and 1.5m high.
Surrounding each mound is a ditch from which material was quarried during its
construction. The ditch of the southern barrow has become partially infilled
over the years but can be seen as a slight depression 3.5m wide and c.0.25m
deep. The ditch of the northern barrow has become completely infilled and can
no longer be seen at ground level but survives as a buried feature c.3.5m
wide.
The flattened top of the southern barrow is encircled by a low bank and is
occupied by the foundations of a small war-time building. The foundations of a
second building are cut into the base on its south east side. The top is
levelled as for a beacon and the barrow has been known by the name Harboro'. A
beacon is mentioned at Hauedburghe in 1324, and the beacon is again
mentioned in 1638.

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.

The bowl barrows on Mottistone Down will contain archaeological remains and
environmental evidence relating to the cemetery and the landscape in which it
was constructed. The southern barrow is unusual in that it displays evidence
for subsequent reuse as a beacon in the medieval period. These barrows are
amongst a number which survive in the area of downland above Brighstone.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Grinsell, LV, Ancient Burial Mounds of England, (1953), 155
Worsley, R, History of the Isle of Wight, (1781)
Grinsell, , Sherwin, , 'Proceedings of the IOW Natural History and Archaeological Soc' in , , Vol. 3, (1940), 203
Other
Title: Ordnance Survey Field Investigation 1967 3
Source Date: 1967
Author:
Publisher:
Surveyor:
6" Record Map (OGS Crawford undtd)

Source: Historic England