Details

The monument, which falls within four separate areas of protection, includes
four bowl barrows of Late Neolithic or Bronze Age date, prominently situated
within Woolmer Forest on a high sandy ridge on Weavers Down. The barrows are
widely spaced, aligned north east-south west along the southern brow of the
ridge over a distance of approximately 570m. They form one of a large number
of similar barrow groups, isolated barrows and larger round barrow cemeteries
located in and around Woolmer Forest, some of which are the subject of
separate schedulings.
All four barrows are surrounded by later tree rings of drystone walling,
ranging from 15m to 22m in diameter and from 0.6m to 1.4m in height, within
which they survive as circular, flat-topped mounds ranging in height from
0.75m to 1.5m above the surrounding ground surface. The outer flanks of all of
the barrows have been buried beneath the fill of the later tree rings and
three of the four have been clipped around the edges by later tracks
associated with the modern use of the area as a military training ground. The
fourth barrow and tree ring is surrounded by traces of a partly infilled
ditch, 1.5m wide, from which material would have been obtained for the barrow
mound's construction. Similar ditches, now infilled by the later use of the
area, may surround the other barrows. Partial excavation of three of the
mounds by Reverend Cardew in 1883, recovered evidence in one of a large
stone-lined cist containing signs of a human cremation burial. Further buried
remains associated with the original construction and use of the monument,
including burials, grave pits, burial goods, and the original ground surface,
can be expected to survive beneath each 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 four bowl barrows on Weavers Down situated 650m north west of The
Sanctuary survive well despite some later disturbance and have been
demonstrated by partial excavation to retain archaeological remains and
environmental evidence relating to each barrow and the environment in which it
was constructed. The monument is closely assoicated with a number of other
round barrow cemeteries and barrow groups within the area of Woolmer Forest
which together constitute as a particularly well-preserved ritual landscape of
the Late Neolithic and Bronze Age periods.
All walls are excluded from the scheduling, but the ground beneath them is
included.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Grinsell, L V, 'Proceedings of the Hampshire Field Club' in Hampshire Barrows, , Vol. 14, (1940), 354

Source: Historic England