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Latitude: 50.7531 / 50°45'11"N
Longitude: 0.2554 / 0°15'19"E
OS Eastings: 559193.967024
OS Northings: 97258.608399
OS Grid: TV591972
Mapcode National: GBR MVD.RDR
Mapcode Global: FRA C7F3.1BB
Entry Name: Bowl barrow west of Well Combe
Scheduled Date: 1 November 1963
Last Amended: 13 January 1994
Source: Historic England
Source ID: 1007892
English Heritage Legacy ID: 20187
County: East Sussex
Electoral Ward/Division: Meads
Built-Up Area: Eastbourne
Traditional County: Sussex
Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): East Sussex
Church of England Parish: Eastbourne St John,Meads
Church of England Diocese: Chichester
The monument includes a bowl barrow situated on the crest of a low rise in an
area of chalk downland. The barrow survives as a mound 15m in diameter and
0.7m high surrounded by a ditch from which material was quarried during the
construction of the monument. This is no longer visible at ground level,
having become infilled over the years, but survives as a buried feature c.2.5m
wide.
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
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. There are over 10,000 surviving bowl
barrows recorded nationally (many more have already been destroyed), occurring
across most of lowland Britain. 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
and a substantial proportion of surviving examples are considered worthy of
protection.
Despite some disturbance caused by animal burrowing, the bowl barrow west of
Well Combe survives comparatively well and contains archaeological remains and
environmental evidence relating to both the monument and the landscape in
which it was constructed. As part of a wider concentration of Bronze Age
burial mounds surviving in the area, it contributes to our understanding of
the nature and scale of human occupation on the Downs during the Bronze Age
period.
Source: Historic England
Books and journals
Grinsell, L V, 'Sussex Archaeological Collections' in Sussex Barrows, , Vol. 72, (1934)
Source: Historic England
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