Details

The monument includes a bowl barrow set on the floor of a dry valley in an
area of gently undulating chalk downland. The barrow mound is 35m in diameter
and stands to a height of 2m. A ditch, from which material was quarried
during the construction of the monument, surrounds the barrow mound. Although
this has partly infilled over the years it survives as a low earthwork 3m
wide and 0.5m deep. A slight hollow in the otherwise flat surface on top of
the mound suggests the site was partially excavated by antiquarians,
probably in the 19th century.

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 Sevenbarrows Farm barrow is important as it survives comparatively well
and, despite partial excavation of the site, has potential for the recovery
of additional archaeological remains. The significance of the site is
considerably enhanced by its inclusion within the `Seven Barrows' barrow
cemetery. Such groups give an indication of the intensity with which areas
were occupied during prehistory and provides evidence for the range of
beliefs and social organisation within Bronze Age society.

Source: Historic England