Details

This monument includes a cluster of six bowl barrows forming a nuclear
cemetery and situated on the brow of a low promontory overlooking the valley
of the River Beaulieu. The largest barrow is the most northerly of the group
and measures 21m in diameter and stands up to 1.4m high. A hollow in the
mound centre measuring 4m long by 1.2m wide and up to 0.25m deep suggests
previous robbing or early partial exploration of the mound. Although no
longer visible at ground level, a ditch, from which material was quarried
during construction of the monument, surrounds the barrow mound. This has
become infilled over the years but survives as a buried feature c.2m wide.
Three further barrows survive to the south-west. The mound of the nearest
measures 6m in diameter and stands up to 0.8m high. A ditch surrounding the
mound survives as an earthwork, 1.3m wide and 0.2m deep, except on the east
side of the mound where a 1m wide causeway exists. There is a slight bank on
the western exterior edge of this ditch. Two metres west of this barrow is
another mound which measures 6.5m in diameter and 1m high. A ditch
surrounding the mound survives as an earthwork 1.2m wide and 0.2m deep. Two
metres south of this barrow is another mound measuring 5.5m in diameter and
0.6m high. A ditch surrounding the mound survives as a 1m wide and 0.2m deep
earthwork. The remaining two barrows lie to the south-east of the largest
barrow. The nearest mound measures 4m in diameter and 0.3m high. The
surrounding ditch survives as a buried feature. Three metres south-east of
this barrow is another mound measuring 5.5m in diameter and 0.6m high. A
ditch surrounding the mound survives as a buried feature c.1m wide. Of the
five smaller barrow mounds, three have central hollows which suggest either
previous robbing or partial early excavation. The areas between the barrows
may contain flat graves or an urnfield.

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 round barrow cemetery north-west of King's Hat Inclosure is the best
preserved example in the New Forest. Furthermore, it lies within an area
known to have been important in terms of lowland Bronze Age occupation. A
considerable amount of archaeological evidence has survived in this area
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)
Other
Darvill, T.C., Monument Class Description - Round Barrow Cemeteries, 1988,
Hampshire County Planning Department, SU 30 NE 30E,

Source: Historic England