Details

The monument includes a pair of Bronze Age bowl barrows aligned north east to
south west, situated 650m south west of Beckhampton Buildings. The barrows
form part of a dispersed round barrow cemetery which includes at least
24 barrows. This is one of a number of cemeteries located on the
Downs.
The northern barrow has a mound 24m in diameter and up to 1.5m high. However,
it is known from aerial photographs and field recording that the mound
originally measured c.30m in diameter, surrounded by a quarry ditch from which
material was obtained during its construction. This ditch is no longer visible
at ground level but will survive as a buried feature c.2.5m wide. Sherds of a
coarse pottery urn were found on this mound after ploughing in the early
1960's.
The southern barrow appears as a slight rise in ground level with a diameter
of 19.2m standing up to 0.3m high. This barrow was also surrounded by a ditch
c.2m wide which will survive as a buried feature.

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

A small number of areas in southern England appear to have acted as foci for
ceremonial and ritual activity during the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age
periods. Two of the best known and earliest recognised, with references in the
17th century, are around Avebury and Stonehenge, now jointly designated as a
World Heritage Site. In the Avebury area, the henge monument itself, the West
Kennet Avenue, the Sanctuary, West Kennet long barrow, Windmill Hill
causewayed enclosure and the enigmatic Silbury Hill are well-known. Whilst the
other Neolithic long barrows, the many Bronze Age round barrows and other
associated sites are less well-known, together they define one of the richest
and most varied areas of Neolithic and Bronze Age ceremonial and ritual
monuments in the country. Round barrow cemeteries date to the Bronze Age
(2000-700 BC). They comprise closely-spaced groups of up to 30 round barrows -
rubble or earthen mounds covering single or multiple burials. Most cemeteries
developed over a considerable period of time, often many centuries, and in
some cases acted as a focus for burials as late as the early medieval period.
They exhibit considerable diversity of burial rite, plan and form, frequently
including several different types of round barrow and occasionally associated
with earlier long barrows. Where investigation beyond the round barrows has
occurred, contemporary or later `flat' burials between the barrow mounds have
often been revealed. Round barrow cemeteries occur across most of lowland
England with a marked concentration in Wessex. In some cases they are
clustered around other important contemporary monuments, as is the case both
here and at Stonehenge. Often occupying prominent locations, they are a major
historic element in the modern landscape, while their diversity and their
longevity as a monument type provide important information on the variety of
beliefs and social organisation amongst early prehistoric communities. All
examples are considered worthy of protection.

The pair of barrows 650m south west of Beckhampton Buildings will contain
archaeological and environmental evidence relating to their construction, the
cemetery, and the landscape in which it was built.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
SU 06 NE 082, R.C.H.M.(E), Bowl Barrows, (1973)
SU06NE 730, C.A.O., BIOWL BARROW, (1980)
Title: Ordnance Survey 1:10000 Series
Source Date: 1980
Author:
Publisher:
Surveyor:
SU 06 NE

Source: Historic England