Ancient Monuments

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Two bowl barrows south of Foxholes Brow

A Scheduled Monument in Old Town, East Sussex

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Coordinates

Latitude: 50.7783 / 50°46'41"N

Longitude: 0.2427 / 0°14'33"E

OS Eastings: 558213.151259

OS Northings: 100031.446288

OS Grid: TQ582000

Mapcode National: GBR MV6.265

Mapcode Global: FRA C7D1.2DN

Entry Name: Two bowl barrows south of Foxholes Brow

Scheduled Date: 1 November 1963

Last Amended: 4 January 1993

Source: Historic England

Source ID: 1008891

English Heritage Legacy ID: 20141

County: East Sussex

Electoral Ward/Division: Old Town

Built-Up Area: Eastbourne

Traditional County: Sussex

Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): East Sussex

Church of England Parish: Eastbourne St Elizabeth

Church of England Diocese: Chichester

Details

The monument includes two bowl barrows aligned north-south and situated on the
crest of a ridge of chalk downland. The northern of the two barrows has
a mound 12m in diameter and 0.5m high with a central hollow suggesting that
the barrow was once partially excavated. Surrounding the mound is a ditch from
which material was quarried during the construction of the monument. Having
become infilled over the years this is no longer visible from ground level but
survives as a buried feature c.2.5m wide. Some 5m to the south is the
second barrow which has a mound 14m in diameter and 0.7m high. A slight
central hollow suggests that this barrow too was once partially excavated. The
surrounding quarry ditch has become infilled 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

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 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 evidence of partial excavation, the two bowl barrows south of Foxholes
Brow survive comparatively well and contain archaeological remains and
environmental evidence relating to the monument and the landscape in which it
was constructed. They form part of an extensive and widespread group of
barrows surviving in the area and, as such, contribute to a detailed picture
of settlement and land use during the Bronze Age period.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Grinsell, L V, 'Sussex Archaeological Collections' in Sussex Barrows, , Vol. 75, (1934), 274
Other
Ordnance Survey, TQ 50 SE 27, (1969)

Source: Historic England

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