Details

The monument includes a large bowl barrow situated on a rise in the Greensand
to the north of the South Downs. The barrow comprises a mound constructed on
a knoll with a steep drop to the south. The knoll has been incorporated
producing a mound 45m from north-south and 50m east-west. From the north the
height of the mound is 1.3m; from the south, where ground beyond the Greensand
ridge is much lower, the height is enhanced at 4.5m. It is thought that the
material used in the construction of the mound was scraped from the surface of
the Greensand ridge. No quarry ditch is therefore believed to survive.

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.

Despite previous tree growth on the monument, Little Bury bowl barrow survives
well and contains archaeological remains and environmental evidence relating
to the monument and the landscape in which it was constructed. The monument
is unusual in its overall size and represents a prominent landmark.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Grinsell, L V, 'Sussex Archaeological Collections' in Sussex Barrows, , Vol. 75, (1934)

Source: Historic England