Details

The monument, which falls into four separate areas, includes a group of six
bowl barrows aligned broadly north east by south west, and situated on a
plateau known as Black Hill, overlooking the Piddle Valley to the south and
the Bere Valley to the north east.
The barrows each have a mound composed of sand, earth and turf; these have
maximum dimensions which range between 12m-16m in diameter and c.0.9m-1.5m in
height. Surrounding each mound is a ditch from which material was quarried
during the construction of the monument. The ditches have become infilled over
the years, but each will survive as a buried feature 1.5m wide.

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

Round barrow cemeteries date to the Bronze Age (c.2000-700 BC). They comprise
closely-spaced groups of up to 30 round barrows - rubble or earthen mounds
covering single or multiple burials. Most cemeteries developed over a
considerable period of time, often many centuries, and in some cases acted as
a focus for burials as late as the early medieval period. They exhibit
considerable diversity of burial rite, plan and form, frequently including
several different types of round barrow, occasionally associated with earlier
long barrows. Where large scale investigation has been undertaken around them,
contemporary or later "flat" burials between the barrow mounds have often been
revealed. Round barrow cemeteries occur across most of lowland Britain, with a
marked concentration in Wessex. In some cases, they are clustered around other
important contemporary monuments such as henges. Often occupying prominent
locations, they are a major historic element in the modern landscape, whilst
their diversity and their longevity as a monument type provide important
information on the variety of beliefs and social organisation amongst early
prehistoric communities. They are particularly representative of their period
and a substantial proportion of surviving or partly-surviving examples are
considered worthy of protection.

The group of six bowl barrows forming a round barrow cemetery on Black Hill
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), 454
Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset: Volume I, (1970), 454
Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset: Volume I, (1970), 454
Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset: Volume I, (1970), 454
Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset: Volume I, (1970), 454

Source: Historic England