Details

The monument includes a group of three bowl barrows, arranged in an arc,
situated on a northern ridge of Puddletown Heath overlooking the Frome Valley
to the south.
The barrows each have a mound composed of earth, sand and turf, with maximum
dimensions of between 12m-17m in diameter and between c.0.8m-c.1.35m in
height. Each mound is surrounded by a ditch from which material was quarried
during its construction. The ditches are visible as earthworks 2m-3m wide and
c.0.25m-c.0.5m deep.

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 bowl barrows 550m south west of Beacon Corner, survive 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), 230
Other
Mention 1902 survey by the OS, RCHME, National Monuments Record,
Mention 1902 survey by the OS, RCHME, National Monuments Record,

Source: Historic England