Details

The monument, which falls into three separate areas of protection, includes a
bell barrow and two bowl barrows situated on a ridge overlooking the Frome
valley. The barrows form part of a group of eight similar monuments which
together form a dispersed round barrow cemetery associated with an earlier
long barrow. The rest of the barrows are the subject of separate schedulings.
The barrows lie in proximity to part of the course of the Roman aqueduct which
supplied water to the town of Durnovaria (Dorchester). The aqueduct is the
subject of a separate scheduling.
The barrows were recorded by L Grinsell in 1959 and the Royal Commission on
the Historical Monuments of England in 1952. The bell barrow has a central
mound composed of earth and chalk, with maximum dimensions of about 1m in
height and 20m in diameter. This is surrounded by a berm, or gently sloping
platform 2m wide. Surrounding the berm is a ditch from which material was
quarried during the construction of the monument. This has become infilled
over the years, but will survive as a buried feature about 2m wide. Partial
excavation by E Cunnington in 1887 revealed the presence of a burnt burial and
ashes.
The two bowl barrows, which are situated to the north east, each have a mound
with maximum dimensions of 30m in diameter and about 0.5m in height. Both
barrows were partially excavated by E Cunnington in 1880. The western example
was found to contain ashes, while the eastern barrow contained a skeleton and
two beakers which are now held in the Dorset County Museum. The mounds are
each surrounded by a quarry ditch. These have become infilled over the years,
but they will survive as buried features about 2m wide.
The barrows lie on the periphery of an extensive area of field system which is
likely to have prehistoric origins. The field system has since been reduced by
ploughing however, and is not considered to be of national importance 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.

The bell barrow in Highfield Plantation, one of only about 250 examples
recorded nationally, survives well and the two bowl barrows immediately north
west of Forty Acre Planatation survive comparatively well despite some
disturbance by ploughing. All are known from partial excavation to contain
archaeological and environmental evidence relating to the monument and the
landscape in which it was constructed.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
An Inventory of the Historical Monuments of Dorset: Volume 1 , (1952), 36

Source: Historic England