Details

This monument includes two bowl barrows situated on a prominent knoll
overlooking Ashley Heath. The western barrow mound measures 20m in diameter
and stands up to 1.7m high, though its height is enhanced by its position on a
natural knoll. The steep slope around the edge of the mound means that there
is probably no ditch and instead material was quarried from the lower slopes
of the knoll. The eastern barrow mound measures 13m in diameter and 1.3m
high. Although no longer visible at ground level, a ditch from which material
was quarried, surrounds the barrow. This has become infilled over the years,
but survives as a buried feature c.1.5m wide. Both barrows have a hollow in
the centre of the mound which suggests robbing or partial excavation.

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 for partial excavation, the two bowl barrows survive
comparatively well and both retain undisturbed remains of considerable
archaeological potential.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Grinsell, L V, 'Proceedings of the Hampshire Field Club' in Hampshire Barrows, , Vol. 14, (1938), 359

Source: Historic England