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Latitude: 50.6968 / 50°41'48"N
Longitude: -2.4004 / 2°24'1"W
OS Eastings: 371813.279961
OS Northings: 88648.609243
OS Grid: SY718886
Mapcode National: GBR PZ.CRW0
Mapcode Global: FRA 57V7.JNC
Entry Name: Bowl barrow on Whitcombe Hill 500m north of Whitcombe Farm
Scheduled Date: 15 March 1960
Last Amended: 11 February 2000
Source: Historic England
Source ID: 1017282
English Heritage Legacy ID: 33539
County: Dorset
Civil Parish: Whitcombe
Traditional County: Dorset
Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): Dorset
Church of England Parish: Dorchester and West Stafford
Church of England Diocese: Salisbury
The monument includes a bowl barrow, one of a pair situated on Whitcombe Hill.
The barrow has a mound 28m in diameter and about 3m high. Surrounding the
mound is a quarry ditch from which material was derived for its construction.
This has become infilled over the years but will survive as a buried feature
about 3m wide. The barrow is crossed by the parish boundary which is marked by
a low bank and a fence.
All fence posts are excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath
them 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
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 500m north of Whitcombe Farm, one of two on Whitcombe Hill, is
a well preserved example of its class and will include archaeological deposits
containing information about Bronze Age burial practices, society and the
contemporary environment.
Source: Historic England
Other nearby scheduled monuments