Ancient Monuments

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Two bowl barrows on Godlingston Heath

A Scheduled Monument in Studland, Dorset

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Coordinates

Latitude: 50.6388 / 50°38'19"N

Longitude: -1.978 / 1°58'40"W

OS Eastings: 401650.351184

OS Northings: 82125.944479

OS Grid: SZ016821

Mapcode National: GBR 33K.YHZ

Mapcode Global: FRA 67RD.16V

Entry Name: Two bowl barrows on Godlingston Heath

Scheduled Date: 29 July 1960

Last Amended: 24 April 1996

Source: Historic England

Source ID: 1013838

English Heritage Legacy ID: 22974

County: Dorset

Civil Parish: Studland

Traditional County: Dorset

Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): Dorset

Church of England Parish: Studland St Nicholas

Church of England Diocese: Salisbury

Details

The monument includes two bowl barrows aligned east-west, and situated on a
gravel ridge on Godlingston Heath in the Isle of Purbeck with views over
Studland Bay to the east.
The barrow mounds are composed of turf and sand. The western example is 9m in
diameter and the eastern example 12m in diameter. Both are c.0.5m high. Each
mound is surrounded by a ditch from which material was quarried during its
construction. These ditches have become infilled over the years, but will
survive as buried features c.1m 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

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.

The two bowl barrows on Godlingston Heath survive well and will contain
archaeological and environmental evidence relating to the monument and the
landscape in which it was constructed.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
Mention condition of barrow,
Mention condition,

Source: Historic England

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