Details

The monument includes a bowl barrow forming part of a linear group of three
round barrows situated along a ridge of the Sussex Downs. This location enjoys
panoramic views of the Channel coast to the south and the Weald to the north.
The barrow has a rougly circular, central mound c.7m in diameter and surviving
to a height of up to 0.6m, although it has been reduced to the south west by
modern ploughing. A slight central hollow suggests that the mound has been the
subject of antiquarian excavation. Surrounding the mound is a ditch from which
material used to construct the barrow was excavated. This has become infilled
over the years, but survives as a buried feature c.2m wide.
The modern fence which crosses the monument is excluded from the scheduling,
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

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.

Although it has been partly disturbed by modern ploughing and limited
antiquarian excavation, the bowl barrow on Bostal Hill survives comparatively
well and will contain archaeological remains and environmental evidence
relating to its original use and the landscape in which it was constructed.
The barrow is part of a linear group of three broadly contemporary round
barrows, the other two being the subject of separate schedulings. The round
barrow group also forms part of a dispersed round barrow cemetery constructed
along the downland ridge during the Bronze Age, illustrating the importance of
the area for funerary practices during the later prehistoric period.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
Source 2, RCHME, TQ 40 SE 20, (1930)

Source: Historic England