Details

The monument includes a bell barrow situated on a prominent low ridge.
The barrow has a mound composed of earth, sand and turf, with maximum
dimensions of 20m in diameter and about 2m in height. There is a hollow on
top of the mound 5m in diameter and 0.5m deep, likely to be the result of
past excavation. This has become infilled over the years. Surrounding the
mound is a berm, or gently sloping platform 3m wide and most clearly
visible on the eastern side. Surrounding the berm is a ditch from which
material was quarried during the construction of the monument. The ditch
is visible as an earthwork 3m wide and about 0.3m deep, except to the
south west, where it has become infilled and will survive as a buried
feature.
All fence posts and the warning signs and supporting posts, are excluded
from the scheduling, although the ground beneath them is included.

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

Bell barrows, the most visually impressive form of round barrow, are funerary
monuments dating to the Early and Middle Bronze Age, with most examples
belonging to the period 1500-1100 BC. They occur either in isolation or in
round barrow cemeteries and were constructed as single or multiple mounds
covering burials, often in pits, and surrounded by an enclosure ditch. The
burials are frequently accompanied by weapons, personal ornaments and pottery
and appear to be those of aristocratic individuals, usually men. Bell barrows
(particularly multiple barrows) are rare nationally, with less than 250 known
examples, most of which are in Wessex. Their richness in terms of grave goods
provides evidence for chronological and cultural links amongst early
prehistoric communities over most of southern and eastern England as well as
providing an insight into their beliefs and social organisation. As a
particularly rare form of round barrow, all identified bell barrows would
normally be considered to be of national importance.

Despite some disturbance by past excavation and military vehicles, the
bell barrow in Millicent's Plantation survives comparatively well and will
contain archaeological and environmental evidence relating to the monument
and the landscape in which it was constructed.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset: Volume I, (1970), 454

Source: Historic England