Details

The monument includes two bowl barrows situated on a rise in the Greensand
4km north of the South Downs. Both barrows survive as earthworks, the
northern of the two consisting of a mound 30m in diameter and 1.3m high.
Surrounding the mound is a ditch from which material was quarried during the
construction of the monument. This has become infilled over the years and is
no longer visible, surviving as a buried feature c.3m wide. The southern
barrow has a mound 23m in diameter and 0.7m high. Again the surrounding ditch
is no longer visible but survives as a buried feature c.3m wide. The two
barrows are 16m apart. They are all that survive of a once more extensive
round barrow cemetery.

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

Round barrow cemeteries date to the Bronze Age (c.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, occasionally associated with earlier
long barrows. Where large scale investigation has been undertaken around them,
contemporary or later "flat" burials between the barrow mounds have often been
revealed. Round barrow cemeteries occur across most of lowland Britain, with a
marked concentration in Wessex. In some cases, they are clustered around other
important contemporary monuments such as henges. Often occupying prominent
locations, they are a major historic element in the modern landscape, whilst
their diversity and their longevity as a monument type provide important
information on the variety of beliefs and social organisation amongst early
prehistoric communities. They are particularly representative of their period
and a substantial proportion of surviving or partly-surviving examples are
considered worthy of protection.

The two bowl barrows south of Wenham Cottage survive well as a pair of burial
mounds within a wider cemetery. Such pairings help demonstrate the variations
of layout within cemeteries.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Grinsell, L V, 'Sussex Archaeological Collection' in Sussex Barrows: Supplementary Paper, , Vol. 81, (1940), 214

Source: Historic England