Details

The monument, which falls into three separate areas of protection, includes
three bowl barrows arranged in an arc at the western end of Waterston Ridge
from which there are panoramic views.
The barrows, which were recorded by the Royal Commission on the Historical
Monuments of England in 1970, each have a mound composed of earth and chalk,
with maximum dimensions of between 18m and 23m in diameter and between 0.45m
and 1.75m in height. Each mound is surrounded by a ditch from which material
was quarried during its construction. The ditches have become infilled over
the years, but each will survive as a buried feature about 2m wide.
The barrows lie within an extensive area of field system which is likely to
have prehistoric origins. The field system has since been reduced by ploughing
and is not included in the scheduling.

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 some reduction by ploughing, the three bowl barrows at the western end
of Waterston Ridge, 360m north west of Fidler's Green Farm, survive
comparatively well and will contain archaeological and environmental evidence
relating to the monument and the wider landscape.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset: Volume I, (1970), 257
Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset: Volume I, (1970), 231

Source: Historic England