Details

This monument is part of a linear round barrow cemetery and includes a
nucleated cluster of eight barrows situated in a Forestry Commission conifer
plantation on a south facing slope overlooking the valley of the River
Beaulieu.

(SU 36640802) The largest barrow is situated towards the eastern edge of the
group. It measures 15m in diameter and stands up to 1.4m high. A shallow
hollow in the centre of the mound suggests previous robbing or early
exploration of the barrow. A ditch, from which material was quarried during
the construction of the barrow, surrounds the mound. This has become partly
infilled over the years but survives as a slight earthwork 1.7m wide and 0.3m
deep.

(SU 36640801) Bowl barrow which measured 6m in diameter and 0.7m high. Though
the mound has been partly levelled the surrounding ditch survives as a buried
feature c.1m wide, while the buried ground surface is also believed to
survive.

(SU 36630803). Bowl barrow which measured 9m in diameter and 0.5m high.
Though the mound has been partly levelled the ditch survives as a buried
feature c.1m wide.

(SU 36640804) Bell barrow which had an overall diameter of 10m, a level berm
2.4m wide and mound height of 0.9m. Though the mound has been partly levelled
the surrounding ditch survives as a buried feature c.1m wide.

(SU 36620806) Bowl barrow measuring 6m in diameter and 0.7m high. The
surrounding ditch survives as a buried feature c.1m wide.

(SU 36630804) Bowl barrow measuring 5m in diameter and 0.5m high. The
surrounding ditch survives as a buried feature c.1m wide.

(SU 36630805) Bowl barrow measuring 5m in diameter and 0.7m high. The
surrounding ditch survives as a buried feature c.1m wide.

(SU 36660803) Bowl barrow which measured 10m in diameter and 0.5m high. Though
the mound has been partly levelled the surrounding ditch survives as a buried
feature c.1m wide.

The area between the mounds may contain flat graves, cremation burials and
traces of contemporary occupation.

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.

The Foxhill round barrow cemetery has the largest number of surviving barrows
in any cemetery within the New Forest. Although some of the barrow mounds
have been reduced in size or partially disturbed, all of the barrows retain
undisturbed remains and the cemetery as a whole has considerable
archaeological potential. The New Forest region is known to have been
important in terms of lowland Bronze Age occupation and a considerable amount
of important archaeological evidence has survived because of a lack of
agricultural activity, the result of later climatic deterioration, development
of heath and the establishment of a Royal Forest.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Grinsell, L V, 'Proceedings of the Hampshire Field Club' in Hampshire Barrows, , Vol. 14, (1938)
Grinsell, L V, 'Proceedings of the Hampshire Field Club' in Hampshire Barrows, , Vol. 14, (1938), 360
Other
Darvill, T.C., Monument Class Description - Round Barrow Cemeteries, 1988,
Darvill, T.C., Monument Class Description - Round Barrow Cemeteries, 1988,

Source: Historic England