Details

The monument includes a disc barrow set on a gentle south-facing slope in an
area of gently undulating chalk downland. Although no longer visible as an
earthwork, the ditch and old ground surface which lay beneath the barrow
mound are believed to survive as buried features while the ditch is visible
as a soil mark from the air. The monument originallly had a diameter of c.40m
and comprised an outer ditch and a level berm surrounding the central
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

Disc barrows, the most fragile type of round barrow, are funerary monuments of
the Early Bronze Age, with most examples dating to the period 1400-1200 BC.
They occur either in isolation or in barrow cemeteries (closely-spaced groups
of round barrows). Disc barrows were constructed as a circular or oval area of
level ground defined by a bank and internal ditch and containing one or more
centrally or eccentrically located small, low mounds covering burials, usually
in pits. The burials, normally cremations, are frequently accompanied by
pottery vessels, tools and personal ornaments. It has been suggested that disc
barrows were normally used for the burial of women, although this remains
unproven. However, it is likely that the individuals buried were of high
status. Disc barrows are rare nationally, with about 250 known examples, most
of which are in Wessex. Their richness in terms of grave goods provides
important evidence for chronological and cultural links amongst prehistoric
communities over a wide area of southern England as well as providing an
insight into their beliefs and social organisation. As a particularly rare and
fragile form of round barrow, all identified disc barrows would normally be
considered to be of national importance.

The disc barrow 700m north-east of Sevenbarrows House is important as,
despite cultivation of the site, important components of the monument still
survive below ground, in particular the ditch deposits and the old ground
surface. Both can provide important archaeological evidence relating to the
date and function of the monument as well as environmental data relating to
the period in which the monument was constructed. The importance of the site
is considerably enhanced by the inclusion of the monument within the `Seven
Barrows' cemetery. Such groups of barrows give an indication of the
intensity with which areas were occupied during perhistory and provide
evidence for the range of beliefs and nature of organisation within Bronze
Age society.

Source: Historic England