Ancient Monuments

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Three Lords' Barrow, 450m south east of Doreys Farm

A Scheduled Monument in Steeple with Tyneham, Dorset

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Coordinates

Latitude: 50.6623 / 50°39'44"N

Longitude: -2.1222 / 2°7'19"W

OS Eastings: 391460.694292

OS Northings: 84747.960059

OS Grid: SY914847

Mapcode National: GBR 21V.J8S

Mapcode Global: FRA 67FB.C14

Entry Name: Three Lords' Barrow, 450m south east of Doreys Farm

Scheduled Date: 24 April 1963

Last Amended: 18 November 1996

Source: Historic England

Source ID: 1014840

English Heritage Legacy ID: 28327

County: Dorset

Civil Parish: Steeple with Tyneham

Traditional County: Dorset

Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): Dorset

Church of England Parish: Wareham Lady St Mary

Church of England Diocese: Salisbury

Details

The monument includes a bowl barrow situated on a low natural rise, occurring
along the eastern periphery of East Holme Plain, a heathland area of the Isle
of Purbeck. The barrow is one of four known within the area.
The barrow has a mound composed of earth, sand and turf, with a maximum
diameter of 20m and a maximum height of c.1.5m. This is surrounded by a ditch
from which material was quarried during the construction of the monument. The
ditch is no longer visible, as it has become infilled over the years, but it
will survive as a buried feature c.2m wide.
The barrow forms the boundary of four parishes and its name is thought to
derive from the historic juncture of three manorial estates.
Excluded from the scheduling are all fence posts relating to the modern field
boundaries, although the underlying ground 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 Three Lords' Barrow, 450m south east of Doreys Farm survives well and will
contain archaeological and environmental evidence relating to the monument and
the landscape in which it was constructed.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset: Volume I, (1970), 435
Other
Mention group of 4 barrows,
Mention variance in size of barrow,

Source: Historic England

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