Details

The monument which falls into two areas, includes three bowl barrows on the
western edge of Ibsley Common 650m north east of Mockbeggar Farm.
The barrows have mounds ranging in diameter between 8.5m and 13m and in height
between 0.3m and 0.7m. In the case of the eastern and western barrows the
mounds were surrounded by quarry ditches from which material used during their
construction was derived. These have become infilled over the years but
survive as buried features about 2m wide. The central barrow was found during
partial excavation to have no quarry ditch. Both the eastern and central
barrows were partially excavated by Heywood Sumner in 1921. The eastern barrow
contained an inner mound sealing the cremation of a young adult female in an
upright urn. In the middle of the central barrow, 0.56m below the surface, the
rim of an urn and fragments of a cremation were discovered. No other finds
were made. The western barrow also appears to have been excavated in the past,
although there is no record of this.

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 three barrows on Ibsley Common 630m and 720m north east of Mockbeggar Farm
survive well and two are known from partial excavation to contain
archaeological remains providing information about Bronze Age burial
practices, economy and environment.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Sumner, H, 'Transactions of the Bournemouth Field Club and Arch. Society' in Excavation of barrows on Ibsley Common, , Vol. 14, (1922), 69-78

Source: Historic England