Details

The monument includes a bell barrow lying on a hilltop above the Dorset coast.
The barrow mound, which includes a 2m wide berm, measures 22m in diameter and
3m high. Surrounding the mound is a ditch from which material was quarried
during its construction. This has become partially infilled over the years but
can still be seen as a slight depression 0.3m deep and 2m wide.
The top of the barrow is flattened indicating an antiquarian excavation.
Records suggest the barrow was opened by J Milner in around 1790 and that near
the centre of the barrow a skeleton was found accompanied by a pottery vessel,
lying above a deposit of ashes.

The triangulation point and concrete base on the north edge of the ditch is
excluded from the scheduling, but the ground beneath is included.

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

Bell barrows, the most visually impressive form of round barrow, are funerary
monuments dating to the Early and Middle Bronze Age, with most examples
belonging to the period 1500-1100 BC. They occur either in isolation or in
round barrow cemeteries and were constructed as single or multiple mounds
covering burials, often in pits, and surrounded by an enclosure ditch. The
burials are frequently accompanied by weapons, personal ornaments and pottery
and appear to be those of aristocratic individuals, usually men. Bell barrows
(particularly multiple barrows) are rare nationally, with less than 250 known
examples, most of which are in Wessex. Their richness in terms of grave goods
provides evidence for chronological and cultural links amongst early
prehistoric communities over most of southern and eastern England as well as
providing an insight into their beliefs and social organisation. As a
particularly rare form of round barrow, all identified bell barrows would
normally be considered to be of national importance.

Despite partial excavation of the site in 1790, the bell barrow on Hambury
Tout survives well and will contain archaeological remains and environmental
evidence relating to the monument and the landscape in which it was
constructed. This barrow is one of a pair which form part of a wider group
which survive along the Dorset coast.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
Grinsell, L. V., List of Dorset Barrows (Unpub) and Gents Mag 1790 pp 897-901,

Source: Historic England