Details

The monument includes a ditched bowl barrow, one of the most northerly
surviving examples within a scattered group of at least seven round barrows
which straddles a shallow coombe on Porton Down. The barrow, which lies on a
shallow south east facing slope, has a mound 21m in diameter and 0.8m high.
Immediately adjacent to the mound on its northern side are traces of a ditch
c.2m wide. Elsewhere around the mound this will survive as a buried feature.
Beyond the edge of the mound in those places where the ditch is not visible,
and most pronounced on the downslope (south east) side, is a level platform
c.5m wide.
The edge of this platform, the line of which reflects the curve of the barrow
mound, represents the overall extent of the barrow.
Excluded from the scheduling is the archaeological site marker on the south
side of the barrow, although the ground beneath it 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

Since 1916 the Porton Down Range has been used for military purposes. As on
the Salisbury Plain Training Area, this has meant that it has not been subject
to the intensive arable farming seen elsewhere on the Wessex chalk. Porton, as
a result, is one of very few surviving areas of uncultivated chalk downland in
England and contains a range of well-preserved archaeological sites, many of
Neolithic or Bronze Age date. These include long barrows and round barrows,
flint mines, and evidence for settlement, land division and agriculture.
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 organisation 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 260m SSE of Moll Harris's Clump is a comparatively well
preserved example of its class. Despite some erosion caused by burrowing
animals, it exhibits a largely original profile. The barrow will contain
archaeological remains providing information about Bronze Age beliefs, economy
and environment.

Source: Historic England