Details

The monument includes ten round barrows in a linear round barrow cemetery
aligned east-west with a series of three cross dykes set at right angles to
it. The barrows are situated along a chalk ridge towards the north of the
South Downs; the cross dykes run across the ridge acting as a form of land
division. The barrows all survive as earthworks and range in size from 11m to
34m in diameter and stand to heights of between 0.3 and 2.6m. These are
described from west to east as follows:
1. (SU 90581657) Bowl barrow, the mound of which measures 19m in diameter and
2m high. Surrounding the mound is a ditch from which material was quarried
during the construction of the monument. This has become infilled over the
years and is now only visible as a slight depression to the south-east but
survives as a buried feature c.3m wide around the mound.
2. (SU 90621657) Bowl barrow with a central mound 34m in diameter and 2.6m
high. The mound is surrounded by a quarry ditch which has become partially
infilled over the years but remains as an earthwork feature 3.5m wide and up
to 1m deep.
3. (SU 90641655) Bowl barrow which survives as a much slighter earthwork and
has a central mound 11.5m in diameter and 0.5m high. Surrounding the mound is
a quarry ditch which is now no longer visible but which survives as a buried
feature c.3m wide.
4. (SU 90651654) Bowl barrow which has a mound 12m in diameter and 0.3m high.
This too has a surrounding quarry ditch which survives as a buried feature
c.3m wide.
5. (SU 90661654) Bowl barrow which has a mound 14.5m in diameter and 1.2m
high. The surrounding quarry ditch survives as a buried feature c.3m wide.
6. (SU 90671653) Bowl barrow which has a mound 13.5m in diameter and stands
to a height of 1.3m, the surrounding ditch surviving as a buried feature c.3m
wide.
7. Bowl barrow (SU 90691652) which has a mound 11m in diameter and stands to
a height of 1m. The quarry ditch is no longer visible but survives as a
buried feature c.3m wide.
Between this and the next barrow is the most westerly segment of cross dyke
which comprises a ditch 4.5m wide and 0.7m deep with a bank on its east side
7.5m wide and 0.8m high. Both the ditch and bank run for 65m to the south and
are cut through by a trackway running east-west.
8. Disc barrow (SU 90731649) comprising a circular bank 15m in diameter and
2m wide which stands to a height of 0.4m, defining a flat central area, or
platform, without a central mound.
9. Bowl barrow (SU 90741648) the central mound of which measures 14m in
diameter and 0.5m high. The surrounding quarry ditch survives as a buried
feature c.3m wide.
10. An irregular shaped bowl barrow (SU 90741649), the mound of which
measures 11m north-south by 8m east-west and 0.4m high.
The second barrow (SU90621657) was known locally as `Heyshott Barrow' and has
a central hollow in the mound which suggests that it was once partially
excavated. Six of the other barrows also have hollows and disturbances while
the others appear to be intact. The ninth barrow had some burnt bone and
pottery fragments recovered from the mound; these included a rim sherd of
inverted urn, a type of Bronze Age pottery.
In addition to the length of cross dyke between barrows 7 and 8, the ditches
of barrows 9 and 10 are cut through by the ditch of a further length of cross
dyke running north-south. The ditch measures 7m wide and 1 deep with the bank
to the east 9m wide and 1m high. These run 75m north-south and are also cut
through by a later trackway. The third section of cross dyke runs parallel to
the second 40m further east and comprises a double ditch and bank. On the
west is a ditch 6m wide and 0.7m deep with a bank to the east of it 10m wide
and 1m high. The second ditch is 5m wide and 0.5m deep with a bank to the
east 5m wide and 0.5m high. Both sets of banks and ditches run for 75m north-
south finishing in the south where they are cut through by the trackway.
The surface of the trackways which cross the cross-dykes and all fences and
fence posts are excluded from the scheduling although the ground beneath 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

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.

Despite evidence of partial excavation of some of the barrows, Heyshott Down
round barrow cemetery survives particularly well and contains archaeological
remains and environmental evidence relating to the monument and the landscape
in which it was constructed. Combined with the cemetery are the Heyshott Down
cross-dykes. Cross-dykes are substantial linear earthworks typically between
0.20km and 1km long comprising one or more ditches arranged beside and
parallel to one or more banks. They generally occur in upland situations,
running across ridges and spurs. The evidence of excavation and analogy with
associated monuments demonstrates that their construction spans the millenium
from the Middle Bronze Age, although they may have been re-used later.
Current information favours the view that they were used as territorial
boundary markers, probably demarcating land allotment within communities,
although they may also have been used as trackways, cattle droveways or
defensive earthworks. Cross-Dykes are one of the few monument types which
illustrate how land was divided up in the Prehistoric period, while the
association of the round barrow cemetery with the cross-dykes gives a valuable
insight into the nature and scale of human occupation in the area during this
period.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Curwen, E, E C, , 'The Sussex Archaeological Collections' in Covered Ways on the Sussex Downs, , Vol. 59, (1918), 47-48
Grinsell, L V, 'Sussex Archaeological Collections' in Sussex Barrows (Volume 75), (1934), 240
Grinsell, L V, 'Sussex Archaeological Collections' in Sussex Barrows (Volume 75), (1934), 246
Lewis, G D, 'Sussex Archaeological Collections' in Sussex Archaeological Collections, , Vol. 98, (1960), 15
Other
Aldsworth, F G, SMR Record Card SU 91 NW 19, (1975)
Aldsworth, F G, SMR Record Card, (1975)

Source: Historic England