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Bowl barrow 20m south of Flanchford Road: part of Reigate Heath round barrow cemetery

A Scheduled Monument in Reigate Central, Surrey

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Coordinates

Latitude: 51.2377 / 51°14'15"N

Longitude: -0.2266 / 0°13'35"W

OS Eastings: 523894.764362

OS Northings: 150220.127323

OS Grid: TQ238502

Mapcode National: GBR JHZ.9J5

Mapcode Global: VHGS9.1510

Entry Name: Bowl barrow 20m south of Flanchford Road: part of Reigate Heath round barrow cemetery

Scheduled Date: 16 November 1934

Last Amended: 23 February 1993

Source: Historic England

Source ID: 1008871

English Heritage Legacy ID: 20165

County: Surrey

Electoral Ward/Division: Reigate Central

Built-Up Area: Reigate

Traditional County: Surrey

Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): Surrey

Church of England Parish: Reigate

Church of England Diocese: Southwark

Details

The monument includes one of seven bowl barrows situated on the crest of a
slight ridge of Greensand and forming part of a dispersed linear round barrow
cemetery aligned north-west to south-east on Reigate Heath. The barrow has a
small flat topped mound 15m in diameter and 0.4m high with a slight central
hollow suggesting that the barrow was once partially excavated. There has
been some disturbance to the northern edge of the mound resulting in its
uneven shape. Surrounding the mound is a ditch from which material was
quarried during the construction of the monument. No longer visible at ground
level the ditch has become infilled over the years but survives as a buried
feature 2m wide.
This could be one of the four barrows on Reigate Heath partially excavated in
1809 before the planting of pine trees. In two of the mounds burnt bones were
found and in the largest barrow a circular hole 0.5m in diameter and 0.4m deep
containing ashes and charred wood was discovered cut into the natural rock
beneath the mound. Three of the pine trees planted on the mound survive.

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 the possibility of partial excavation, the bowl barrow 20m south of
Flanchford Road is an integral part of the Reigate Heath round barrow cemetery
and contains archaeological remains and environmental evidence relating to
both the monument and the landscape in which it was constructed.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Grinsell, L V, 'Surrey Archaeological Collections' in Surrey Barrows 1934-1987: A Reappraisal, , Vol. 79, (1987)

Source: Historic England

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