Details

The monument includes a ditched bowl barrow 80m west of Dormy House on Little
Down, one of several barrows on Little and Rawston Down. The barrow has a flat
topped mound c.16m in diameter and 0.6m high, which has an irregular surface.
The mound is surrounded by a ditch, c.2m wide, which is partly visible on the
north and south sides of the mound. This is probably the barrow, known as
Down Wood Barrow, opened by Cunnington in 1881 when three primary contracted
inhumations and three secondary cremations were identified.
Excluded from the scheduling are all fence posts but 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

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 bowl barrow 80m west of Dormy House is a comparatively well preserved
example of its class and is associated with other bowl barrows on Little and
Rawston Down. The barrow is known from part excavation to contain
archaeological remains, providing information about Bronze Age burial
practices, economy and environment.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Acland, A E, 'Proceedings of the Dorset Natural Hist. and Arch. Society' in List Of Dorset Barrow Opened By Mr E Cunnington, (1916), 46

Source: Historic England