Details

This monument includes two bowl barrows situated on the brow of an east to
west orientated ridge overlooking the valley of the River Beaulieu. The
northern barrow mound measures 13m in diameter and stands up to 0.7m high. A
slight hollow in the centre of the mound suggests previous robbing or early
exploration of the site. A ditch, from which material was quarried during the
construction of the barrow, surrounds the mound, although it is only visible
as a slight earthwork 2m wide on the northern and south-eastern sides of the
mound. The second barrow mound is situated 15m to the south-east, measures
25m in diameter and stands up to 2.5m high. A ditch survives as an earthwork
2.75m wide and 0.4m deep around the circumference of the 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

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 evidence for partial excavation, the two barrows on Yew Tree Heath
survive well, the largest appearing as an obvious landmark within a well-used
part of the New Forest, an area known to have been important in terms of
lowland Bronze Age occupation. A considerable amount of archaeological
evidence has survived in this area because of a lack of agricultural activity,
the result of later climatic deterioration, development of heath and the
establishment of a Royal Forest.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Grinsell, L V, 'Proceedings of the Hampshire Field Club' in Hampshire Barrows, , Vol. 14, (1938)
Other
Darvill, T, Monument Class Description - Bowl barrows, 1988,

Source: Historic England