Details

The monument includes a bowl barrow, one of two on Charlton Down, 150m north
of the parish boundary and Combs Ditch. The barrow has a mound, 14m in
diameter and 1.2m high, which is slightly hollowed on top, possibly as a
result of the growth of a former large tree, now surviving as a stump.
Surrounding the mound is a quarry ditch 2m wide and 0.4m deep on the southern
side but shallower elsewhere. There appears to be a causeway across the ditch
on the eastern side. To the west the ditch has been filled up with soil spread
by ploughing.
This barrow may have been excavated by H White in 1811, and the scar of a
trench running north-south across the mound, noted in 1960, may be indicative
of this.
All fence posts are excluded from the scheduling although the ground beneath
these features 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 1020m south east of Charisworth Cottages, despite the
likelihood of it having been partly excavated in the past, is comparatively
well preserved and will contain archaeological remains, providing information
about Bronze Age burial practices, economy and environment.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset: Volume I, (1970), 59
Grinsell, L V, 'Procs Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Soc.' in Dorset Barrows, (1959), 99

Source: Historic England