Details

This monument includes three bowl barrows situated on lowland heath
overlooking the valley of Stock Water. Two of the barrows have not previously
been excavated and important archaeological deposits will remain intact. The
western barrow mound measures 6m in diameter and stands up to 0.25m high.
Although no longer visible at ground level, a ditch, from which material was
quarried during the construction of the monument, surrounds the barrow mound.
This has become infilled over the years but survives as a buried feature c.1m
wide. The second mound is situated 12m south-east of the first and measures
6m in diameter and 0.3m high. The surrounding ditch is no longer visible but
survives as a buried feature. The third barrow is situated 18m south-east of
the second, measures 14m in diameter and stands up to 0.9m high. A shallow
hollow in the mound centre suggests previous robbing or an early partial
excavation. The surrounding ditch is no longer visible, but survives as a
buried feature c.2m wide.

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 three bowl barrows 560m north of Otterwood Farm survive comparatively well
adjacent to a waterlogged area, making it likely that environmental evidence
may survive relating to the landscape in which the monument was constructed.
Furthermore, the monument survives within the New Forest which is known to
have been important in terms of lowland Bronze Age occupation. A considerable
amount of archaeological evidence has survived in this area because of a lack
of agricultural activity, the result of later climatic deterioration,
development of heath and the establishment of a Royal Forest.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Grinsell, L V, 'Proceedings of the Hampshire Field Club' in Hampshire Barrows, , Vol. 14, (1938), 362
Other
Darvill, T C, Monument Class Descriptions - Bowl Barrows (1988), 1988,
Darvill, T C, Monument Class Descriptions - Bowl Barrows (1988), 1988,

Source: Historic England