Ancient Monuments

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Bowl barrow 800m SSE of Brooks Farm on Bell Hill

A Scheduled Monument in Okeford Fitzpaine, Dorset

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Coordinates

Latitude: 50.8732 / 50°52'23"N

Longitude: -2.2867 / 2°17'12"W

OS Eastings: 379922.269713

OS Northings: 108227.416949

OS Grid: ST799082

Mapcode National: GBR 0XS.4PV

Mapcode Global: FRA 663S.LZ1

Entry Name: Bowl barrow 800m SSE of Brooks Farm on Bell Hill

Scheduled Date: 10 March 1959

Last Amended: 12 February 1996

Source: Historic England

Source ID: 1013750

English Heritage Legacy ID: 27359

County: Dorset

Civil Parish: Okeford Fitzpaine

Traditional County: Dorset

Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): Dorset

Church of England Parish: Belchalwell St Aldheim

Church of England Diocese: Salisbury

Details

The monument includes a bowl barrow 800m SSE of Brooks Farm on Bell Hill. The
barrow mound has a diameter of 10m, although it has been slightly truncated on
the south east side by a trackway, and is 0.7m high. There is now no visible
sign of a ditch surrounding the mound although both a distinct outer ditch and
a less certain outer bank were recorded in 1959. The ditch will now survive as
a buried feature c.2m wide.
Excluded from the scheduling are all fence posts although the ground beneath
them 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

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.

Despite partial erosion, the bowl barrow 800m SSE of Brooks Farm on Bell Hill
survives comparatively well and will contain archaeological remains, providing
information about Bronze Age burial practices, economy and environment.

Source: Historic England

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