Details

The monument includes two bowl barrows situated on the crest of a chalk ridge
running west from Waltham Down, forming part of Waltham Down round barrow
cemetery. This is a linear cemetery consisting of 5 bowl barrows spread over
a distance of 350m. The most westerly of the barrows here has a central mound
14m in diameter and 1.2m high. The mound of the next barrow 20m to the east
is 24m in diameter, 1.2m high and has a central hollow suggesting that the
barrow was once partially excavated. Surrounding both mounds are ditches from
which material was quarried during the construction of the monument. These
have become infilled over the years and are no longer visible at ground level
but survive as buried features c.3m 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

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 of partial excavation of one of the mounds and some tree root
damage, the two bowl barrows on Waltham Down survive comparatively well and
contains archaeological remains and environmental evidence relating to the
monument and the landscape in which it was constructed.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Grinsell, L V, 'Sussex Archaeological Collections' in Sussex Barrows, , Vol. 75, (1934)
Other
Gilyard-Beer, R, AM7, (1960)
Ordnance Survey, SU 91 SW 1, (1971)
Ordnance Survey, SU 91 SW 1B, (1971)

Source: Historic England