Details

The monument includes a bowl barrow situated on the crest of a gentle rise in
the Lower Greensand 2km north of the South Downs. The barrow mound survives
as an earthwork 18m in diameter and stands to a height of 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 on Heyshott Common
survives comparatively well and contains archaeological remains and
environmental evidence relating to the landscape in which the monument was
constructed.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Grinsell, L V, 'Sussex Archaeological Collections' in Sussex Barrows, , Vol. 75, (1934), 245
Other
Title: SMR Ordnance Survey SU91NW1
Source Date: 1971
Author:
Publisher:
Surveyor:

Source: Historic England