Details

The monument includes a bowl barrow situated on the gentle south-facing slope
of a low chalk ridge running in an east-west direction across Southley Farm.
It commands a prominent position overlooking lower lying ground to the south.
The barrow, previously circular in shape, has been disturbed by ploughing and
is now roughly elliptical. It includes a central mound, approximately 0.9m
high with a maximum diameter of 41m, that has been spread at the base. Aerial
photographs taken in 1956 indicate that it was previously surrounded by a
quarry ditch, of which no trace is visible although buried remains will
survive. A flint rubble core is exposed in places on the top of the mound.

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

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 Bronze Age bowl barrow east of Abra Barrow survives comparatively well
despite some later disturbance. It can be expected to retain archaeological
remains and environmental evidence relating to its original construction and
later use. Its close association with other round barrows indicates the
importance of the surrounding chalkland as an area of Bronze Age ritual
activity.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Grinsell, L V, 'Proceedings of the Hampshire Field Club' in Hampshire Barrows, , Vol. 14, (1940), 349

Source: Historic England