Details

The monument includes the bell barrow known as White Hill, which is situated
on a gentle WSW facing slope towards the north west corner of Brandon Park.
The barrow is visible as a large oval earthen mound, which stands to a height
of approximately 3m. It measures about 75m north east-south west by 57m north
west-south east, and is surrounded by a berm up to 22m wide and a ditch. The
ditch, from which earth was dug and used in the construction of the mound, has
become partly infilled but is marked by a hollow up to 22m wide and 1m deep.
The barrow, including the berm and the ditch, measures approximately 147m
north east-south west by 136m north west-south east. A forest ride crosses the
barrow in a north west-south east direction and has cut into the mound to a
depth of 2m.
The surface of the ride is excluded from the scheduling, although the ground
beneath it 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

Bell barrows, the most visually impressive form of round barrow, are funerary
monuments dating to the Early and Middle Bronze Age, with most examples
belonging to the period 1500-1100 BC. They occur either in isolation or in
round barrow cemeteries and were constructed as single or multiple mounds
covering burials, often in pits, and surrounded by an enclosure ditch. The
burials are frequently accompanied by weapons, personal ornaments and pottery
and appear to be those of aristocratic individuals, usually men. Bell barrows
(particularly multiple barrows) are rare nationally, with less than 250 known
examples, most of which are in Wessex. Their richness in terms of grave goods
provides evidence for chronological and cultural links amongst early
prehistoric communities over most of southern and eastern England as well as
providing an insight into their beliefs and social organisation. As a
particularly rare form of round barrow, all identified bell barrows would
normally be considered to be of national importance.

The bell barrow known as White Hill is of extraordinary size, although the
features which it displays are characteristic of bell barrows in all other
respects, and it remains an impressive monument. The cutting of the ride
through the upper part of the mound affects only a small part of the monument
as a whole, which will retain archaeological information concerning its
construction and the manner and duration of its use. Evidence for the local
environment prior to and during that time will also be preserved in soils
buried beneath the mound and in the fill of the ditch. The proximity of the
barrow to a number of other barrows in this part of the Breckland region give
it additional interest. Together these barrows give some evidence of the
character, development and density of the prehistoric population in this area.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
Title: Brandon Tithe Map and Apportionment
Source Date: 1838
Author:
Publisher:
Surveyor:
Suffolk Record Office T125/1.2
Title: Ordnance Survey 6"
Source Date: 1891
Author:
Publisher:
Surveyor:
Suffolk Record Office

Source: Historic England