Details

The monument includes three bowl barrows which form part of Fitzhall Heath
round barrow cemetery. They are situated along a ridge in the Greensand 3.5km
north of the South Downs. The complete cemetery consists of eight bowl
barrows orientated in an east-west direction. The barrows at the east end are
closely grouped while those at the west end are more dispersed. All the
barrows survive as earthworks and have mounds ranging from 12m to 26m in
diameter and between 0.25m and 2.5m high. The most easterly of these three
barrows was constructed on the end of the ridge, the mound being broad but low
measuring 23m in diameter and 0.8m high. Surrounding the mound is a ditch
from which material was quarried during the construction of the monument.
This has become infilled over the years and is no longer visible, surviving as
a buried feature c.3m wide. On the south side of the mound there is a slight
hollow which suggests that the mound was once partially excavated. Seven
metres to the west the second barrow has a much slighter mound 13m in diameter
and 0.25m high. The surrounding quarry ditch has become infilled and survives
as a buried feature c.2m wide. The third barrow is a further 7m to the west,
the mound measuring 24m in diameter and 1.3m high. The construction of the
mound includes a revetment of large pieces of stone 5m in from the edge. This
is likely to be where the original perimeter of the mound was, the sand having
spread from its constraints. Surrounding the mound the quarry ditch survives
as a buried feature c.3m wide. A hollow in the west side of the mound
suggests that the barrow was 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

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 evidence for partial excavation of two of the three bowl barrows 500m
NNE of Fitzhall, 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. The cemetery represents one of many
such monuments to survive in the area, giving an insight into the intensity
with which the area was occupied during the Bronze Age as well as the related
distribution of burial monuments.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Grinsell, L V, 'Sussex Archaeological Collections' in Sussex Barrows, , Vol. 75, (1934)
Other
Ordnance Survey, SU 82 SW 6, (1970)

Source: Historic England