Details

The monument includes a roughly north-south aligned linear boundary dating to
the later prehistoric period, constructed along the eastern crest of a ridge
which forms part of the Sussex Downs.
Partial excavation in the year 2000 showed that the 104m long boundary has a
`V'-shaped ditch up to 4m wide and 1.2m deep flanked to the east by a bank, up
to 12m wide and 0.7m high and separated from the ditch by a narrow berm. Finds
discovered during excavation suggest that the boundary was constructed in the
Bronze Age. These included pottery sherds and worked flint, including a barbed
and tanged arrowhead. The southern end of the earthwork has been disturbed by
later quarrying. The northern end peters out close to two further depressions
associated with quarrying, and appears to be undisturbed.
A Bronze Age round barrow, or burial mound, stands some 20m to the north west
of the linear boundary. It is visible as a mound 19m in diameter and 0.7m high
which has a large central depression suggesting that it was once partially
excavated. Surrounding the mound is a ditch from which material was quarried
during the construction of the monument. Having become infilled over the
years, this is no longer visible from ground level but survives as a buried
feature about 3m wide.

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

Linear boundaries are substantial earthwork features comprising single or
multiple ditches and banks which may extend over distances varying between
less than 1km to over 10km. They survive as earthworks or as linear features
visible as cropmarks on aerial photographs or as a combination of both. The
evidence of excavation and study of associated monuments demonstrate that
their construction spans the millennium from the Middle Bronze Age, although
they may have been re-used later.
The scale of many linear boundaries has been taken to indicate that they were
constructed by large social groups and were used to mark important boundaries
in the landscape; their impressive scale displaying the corporate prestige of
their builders. They would have been powerful symbols, often with religious
associations, used to define and order the territorial holdings of those
groups who constructed them. Linear earthworks are of considerable importance
for the analysis of settlement and land use in the Bronze Age; all well
preserved examples will normally merit statutory protection.

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 prehistoric linear boundary in Pudding Bag Wood survives well and has been
shown by partial excavation to contain valuable archaeological evidence
relating to the period in which it was constructed and used.
Despite evidence of partial excavation, the bowl barrow in Pudding Bag Wood
survives comparatively well and contains archaeological remains and
environmental evidence relating both to the monument and the landscape in
which the barrow was constructed. Bowl barrows are the most numerous form
of round barrow, with over 10,000 examples recorded nationally. They were
constructed as earthen or rubble mounds, each covering single or multiple
burials.
The linear boundary forms part of a group of linear earthworks and round
barrows which cluster along this part of the downland ridge. These monuments
are broadly contemporary and their close association will provide evidence for
the relationship between land division and funerary practices during the later
prehistoric period.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Funnell, J, Sussex Past and Present: Stanmer's Ridge Dykes, (2001)
Other
Funnell, J, Preliminary report on archaeological investigations..., 2000,
Title: TQ 30 NW 42
Source Date: 1962
Author:
Publisher:
Surveyor:

Source: Historic England