Details

The monument includes three bowl barrows aligned south-west to north-east and
situated along a ridge of Greensand 4km to the north of the South Downs. The
most southerly barrow is the largest of the three, having a central mound 24m
in diameter and 2.2m high. Surrounding the mound is a ditch from which
material was quarried during the construction of the monument. This is no
longer visible, having become infilled over the years, but survives as a
buried feature c.3m wide. The central bowl barrow is the smallest, the mound
measuring 14m in diameter and 1.3m high. The surrounding quarry ditch has
also become infilled and survives as a buried feature c.2m wide. The third
bowl barrow has a mound 15m in diameter and 1.6m high. The surrounding ditch
has become infilled and survives as a buried feature c.3m wide. There are
hollows in the centre of all the mounds suggesting that they were all once
partially excavated.

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 of the three bowl barrows on Trotton
Common, they survive comparatively well and have potential for the recovery of
archaeological remains and environmental evidence relating to the landscape in
which they were constructed.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Grinsell, L V, 'Sussex Archaeological Collection' in Sussex Barrows: Supplementary Paper, , Vol. 81, (1940)
Other
Ordnance Survey , SU 82 SW 5, (1970)

Source: Historic England