Details

The monument includes two bowl barrows aligned east-west and situated on the
Lower Greensand; they are part of a group of seven barrows forming a dispersed
linear round barrow cemetery aligned north-west to south-east on Reigate
Heath. The eastern barrow is the largest of the two and has a mound 30m in
diameter and 2.4m high. Surrounding the mound is a ditch from which material
was quarried during the construction of the monument. This has become
partially infilled over the years and is now only visible around the northern
edge of the mound where it survives as an earthwork 3m wide and 0.2m deep.
The rest of the ditch survives as a buried feature. The western barrow has a
mound 25m in diameter and 2m high. This too is surrounded by a quarry ditch
which is now completely infilled and survives as a buried feature c.3m wide.
A space of 12m separates the two barrows.
These could be two of the four barrows on Reigate Heath partially excavated in
1809 before the planting of pine trees. In two of the mounds burnt bones were
found and in the largest barrow a circular hole 0.5m in diameter and 0.4m deep
containing ashes and charred wood was discovered cut into the natural rock
beneath the mound.
Excluded from the scheduling is a wooden seat on the eastern mound, although
the ground beneath it 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

Round barrow cemeteries date to the Bronze Age (c.2000-700 BC). They comprise
closely-spaced groups of up to 30 round barrows - rubble or earthen mounds
covering single or multiple burials. Most cemeteries developed over a
considerable period of time, often many centuries, and in some cases acted as
a focus for burials as late as the early medieval period. They exhibit
considerable diversity of burial rite, plan and form, frequently including
several different types of round barrow, occasionally associated with earlier
long barrows. Where large scale investigation has been undertaken around them,
contemporary or later "flat" burials between the barrow mounds have often been
revealed. Round barrow cemeteries occur across most of lowland Britain, with a
marked concentration in Wessex. In some cases, they are clustered around other
important contemporary monuments such as henges. Often occupying prominent
locations, they are a major historic element in the modern landscape, whilst
their diversity and their longevity as a monument type provide important
information on the variety of beliefs and social organisation amongst early
prehistoric communities. They are particularly representative of their period
and a substantial proportion of surviving or partly-surviving examples are
considered worthy of protection.

Despite the possibility of partial excavation, the two bowl barrows 70m south
of Buckland Road survive well and contain archaeological remains and
environmental evidence relating to the monument and the landscape in which it
was constructed.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Grinsell, L V, 'Surrey Archaeological Collections' in Surrey Barrows 1934-1987: A Reappraisal, (1987)
Grinsell, L V, 'Surrey Archaeological Collections' in Surrey Barrows 1934-1987: A Reappraisal, (1987)

Source: Historic England