Details

The monument includes a Bronze Age bowl barrow north of Grim's Ditch where it
runs west towards Bokerley Dyke from Tidpit Common Down. The barrow lies on
the lower part of a north facing slope and is within the Martin Down National
Nature Reserve.
The barrow has a mound 13m in diameter and c.1.2m high. Surrounding the mound
is a ditch from which material was quarried during the construction of the
monument. This has largely become infilled over the years but survives as a
shallow depression 0.1m deep and 2.5m wide at the south, upslope, side of the
barrow. The surface of the mound is irregular and may indicate the site of
antiquarian excavation, of which there are no known records.

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.

The barrow 270m north of Grim's Ditch near Tidpit Common Down is well
preserved as one of the numerous Bronze Age monuments constructed on Martin
Down. These have recently been the subject of a detailed survey by the Royal
Commission on the Historical Monuments of England. Despite evidence of
antiquarian excavation, the monument will contain archaeological and
environmental evidence relating to its construction and use.

Source: Historic England