Ancient Monuments

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Bowl barrow on Heyshott Common, 250m west of Foundry Cottages

A Scheduled Monument in Heyshott, West Sussex

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Coordinates

Latitude: 50.9638 / 50°57'49"N

Longitude: -0.7186 / 0°43'7"W

OS Eastings: 490080.145248

OS Northings: 119043.098663

OS Grid: SU900190

Mapcode National: GBR DF9.K3X

Mapcode Global: FRA 96CK.KV4

Entry Name: Bowl barrow on Heyshott Common, 250m west of Foundry Cottages

Scheduled Date: 15 March 1966

Last Amended: 13 July 1992

Source: Historic England

Source ID: 1010438

English Heritage Legacy ID: 20027

County: West Sussex

Civil Parish: Heyshott

Traditional County: Sussex

Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): West Sussex

Church of England Parish: Heyshott St James

Church of England Diocese: Chichester

Details

The monument includes a bowl barrow situated on the crest of a Greensand ridge
2km north of the South Downs. The barrow mound survives as an earthwork 15m
in diameter and stands to a height of 2.2m. The mound is surrounded by 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 at
ground level but survives as a buried feature c.3m wide. A hollow in the
centre of the mound suggests that it 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

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, the bowl barrow 250m west of Foundry
Cottages survives comparatively well and contains archaeological remains and
environmental evidence relating to the landscape in which the monument was
constructed. The importance of the site is enhanced by its association with a
number of similar burial monuments in addition to evidence for contemporary
settlement which occurs in the area. Such information provides a detailed
insight into the settlement history and land-use of this area during the
Bronze Age period.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Grinsell, L V, 'Sussex Archaeological Collections' in Sussex Barrows, , Vol. 75, (1934), 245
Other
Ordnance Survey, SMR Ordnance Survey SU 91 NW 2, (1971)

Source: Historic England

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