Details

The monument includes a bell barrow situated on a chalk ridge running south
from Treyford Hill. The barrow mound is 16m in diameter and stands to a
height of c.2m. A hollow in the centre of the mound suggests that it was once
partially excavated. Around the mound is a berm or sloping platform, which
separates the mound from the enclosing ditch and varies between c.2m and 4m
in width. To the north, east and west, the ditch, from which material was
quarried during the construction of the monument, has become infilled and is
no longer visible; to the south however it remains as a slight earthwork
feature c.3m wide and 0.2m deep. Beyond the ditch to the south are the
probable remains of an external bank 1m wide and 0.1m high.
Excluded from the scheduling are a number of breeze blocks dumped onto the
surface of the mound. The ground beneath them, however, 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 partial excavation of the Brooms Farm bell barrow, it survives
comparatively well and has potential for the recovery of archaeological
remains and environmental evidence relating to the landscape in which it was
constructed.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
Title: West Sussex SMR Ordnance Survey SU81NW32
Source Date: 1970
Author:
Publisher:
Surveyor:

Source: Historic England