Details

The monument includes a bell barrow set on a small promontory above a
gentle west-facing slope. The barrow mound has a diameter of 30m and
is 1.5m high. Surrounding the mound is a berm 3m wide and an outer
bank 3m across and between 0.5 and 1m high.
A concrete gun-emplacement has been constructed on top of the barrow
mound causing some disturbance. This is excluded from the scheduling
although 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 localised damage caused by the later gun emplacement, the
barrow survives comparatively well. There is no evidence for formal
excavation of the Gunsite monument and the site has considerable
archaeological potential.

Source: Historic England