Details

The monument includes two bowl barrows of Late Neolithic to Bronze Age date
situated on low lying ground at the eastern margin of Petersfield Heath
Common. These two barrows form part of a round barrow cemetery east of Heath
Pond, known as the Petersfield Heath Group. Now comprising a total of 21
barrows, a first edition Ordnance Survey map dated to 1810 indicates that this
round barrow cemetery was formerly more extensive, including further barrows
situated to the north and east, now destroyed by modern housing.
The two barrows are situated about 15m apart, between a modern cricket ground
and Heath Road East. They are separated by a modern earthen footpath. The
western barrow includes a flat-topped mound which is roughly circular in
shape. It stands approximately 1.2m high and is 20m in diameter. A shallow
ditch extending north from the north east side of the barrow is a modern
drainage ditch and is therefore not included in the scheduling except where it
falls within the constraint area. The eastern barrow includes a flat-topped
mound which has been clipped to the east by Heath Road and is now irregularly
oval in shape. The mound stands 1.6m high and has a north-south diameter of
25m. A shallow central depression is indicative of later excavation, whilst
narrow berms on the south and north west sides and a low mound extending from
the south east side are all the result of later tree-fall damage. Both barrow
mounds have surrounding quarry ditches of approximately 2m wide. These are no
longer visible at ground level having been infilled over the years.
The boundary fence which crosses the east side of the monument is excluded
from the scheduling, although the ground beneath is included.

MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.

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.

Bowl barrows are the most numerous form of round barrow and date from the Late
Neolithic period to the Late Bronze Age, with most examples belonging to the
period 2400-1500BC.
The two bowl barrows on Petersfield Heath Common 300m south east of the Club
House survive well despite some later disturbance by modern roads and the use
of the area as a public recreation ground. These and the other barrows in the
group can be expected to retain important archaeological remains and
environmental evidence relating to the cemetery and the environment in which
it was constructed.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Grinsell, L V, 'Proceedings of the Hampshire Field Club' in Hampshire Barrows, , Vol. 14, (1939)

Source: Historic England