Summary

A small barrow cemetery of three bowl barrows.

Source: Historic England

Details

PRINCIPAL ELEMENTS
The monument includes the earthworks and buried archaeological deposits of a small barrow cemetery comprising three bowl barrows centred at TR 24726 49630 on land at approximately 100m above OD.

DESCRIPTION
The barrows are aligned in a row on a north-west to south-east axis approximately 5m apart. The northernmost barrow is 26m across and stands to 3.5m in height. The middle barrow is 14m wide and 1m high and the third, adjacent to the track, is ovoid in shape, approximately 21m wide and 1.9m high, eroded to the south-east by the track. None of the mounds have obvious ditches.

EXTENT OF SCHEDULING
The scheduling boundary around the Rubury Butts bowl barrows includes a 2m margin for the support and protection of the monument and takes in a section of land between each barrow where buried archaeological deposits associated with the barrows will be preserved. The boundary at the south-east extent of the monument respects the edge of the public footpath known as Long Lane.

EXCLUSIONS
All modern fences and fence posts are excluded from the scheduling but the land beneath them is included.

Source: Historic England

Reasons for Scheduling

The three bowl barrows known as Rubury Butts, Womenswold, Kent are scheduled for the following principal reasons:

* Survival: the bowl barrows survive well, with mounds of between 1m and 3.5m high, and are likely to contain structures and burials;
* Potential: the barrows have considerable potential to retain deposits pertaining to their construction and any interior structures, evidence of funerary traditions of the Bronze Age period and artefacts and ecofacts sealed within the mounds;
* Group value: the survival of three barrows in a group adds considerably to their national significance;
* Rarity: although not a rare burial feature of the prehistoric period, bowl barrows surviving in this good state of preservation are rare in Kent.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Parfitt, Keith, 'Ringlemere and Ritual and Burial Landscapes of Kent' in Needham, Stuart, Parfitt, Keith, Varndell, Gill, The Ringlemere Cup: Precious Cups and the Beginning of the Channel Bronze Age, (2006), 47-52
Websites
Parish history, accessed 27th July 2015 from http://www.nonington.org.uk/three-barrow-downs-rowbergh-butts-and-soles-butts-2/
Pastscape record, accessed 27th July 2015 from http://www.pastscape.org.uk/hob.aspx?hob_id=466038&sort=4&search=all&criteria=rubury%20butts&rational=q&recordsperpage=10#aSt

Source: Historic England