Details

The monument includes two closely spaced round barrows aligned NW-SE and
forming part of a round barrow cemetery south-east of East Lulworth. Both are
situated on the higher reaches of a north-east facing slope on lowland heath
close to the Dorset coast.
The northern example is a bowl barrow which has a mound 2m high and 19.5m
in diameter. The southern barrow, a bell barrow, has a mound 2.5m high
and 28m across surrounded by a sloping berm c.2m wide. Each mound is
surrounded by a ditch from which material was quarried during their
construction. These have become largely infilled over the years. The ditch of
the northern barrow cannot be seen at ground level but survives as a buried
feature. The ditch of the southern barrow can be seen as a slight depression
c.4m wide.

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.

The two barrows known as 'Ferny Barrows', which are part of the round barrow
cemetery to the south-east of East Lulworth, have survived well and contain
archaeological remains and environmental evidence relating to the monument and
the landscape in which it was constructed. These barrows are amongst a
number which survive on this piece of heathland between the River Frome and
the Dorset coast.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Royal Commission on Historical Monuments, , County of Dorset , (1970), 445
Royal Commission on Historical Monuments, , County of Dorset , (1970), 445

Source: Historic England