Ancient Monuments

History on the Ground

This site is entirely user-supported. See how you can help.

Bowl barrow 40m south east of The Drinking Barrow, forming part of the Grange Heath round barrow cemetery

A Scheduled Monument in Steeple with Tyneham, Dorset

We don't have any photos of this monument yet. Why don't you be the first to send us one?

Upload Photo »

Approximate Location Map
Large Map »

If Google Street View is available, the image is from the best available vantage point looking, if possible, towards the location of the monument. Where it is not available, the satellite view is shown instead.

Coordinates

Latitude: 50.6475 / 50°38'50"N

Longitude: -2.1326 / 2°7'57"W

OS Eastings: 390718.556424

OS Northings: 83096.719215

OS Grid: SY907830

Mapcode National: GBR 221.7NG

Mapcode Global: FRA 67FC.70Z

Entry Name: Bowl barrow 40m south east of The Drinking Barrow, forming part of the Grange Heath round barrow cemetery

Scheduled Date: 19 March 1996

Source: Historic England

Source ID: 1014134

English Heritage Legacy ID: 28311

County: Dorset

Civil Parish: Steeple with Tyneham

Traditional County: Dorset

Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): Dorset

Church of England Parish: Wareham Lady St Mary

Church of England Diocese: Salisbury

Details

The monument includes a bowl barrow, one of six in the Grange Heath round
barrow cemetery, situated on a low sandstone ridge of the Isle of Purbeck.
The barrow has a mound composed of earth, sand and turf with a maximum
diameter of 12m and a maximum height of c.0.8m. The mound has an uneven
surface and is surrounded by a ditch from which material was quarried during
the construction of the monument. The ditch is visible as an earthwork with
dimensions of 1.5m in width and c.0.5m in depth.

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 bowl barrow 40m south east of the Drinking Barrow survives well and
will contain archaeological and environmental evidence relating to the
cemetery and the landscape in which it was constructed.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset: Volume I, (1970), 451

Source: Historic England

Other nearby scheduled monuments

AncientMonuments.uk is an independent online resource and is not associated with any government department. All government data published here is used under licence. Please do not contact AncientMonuments.uk for any queries related to any individual ancient or schedued monument, planning permission related to scheduled monuments or the scheduling process itself.

AncientMonuments.uk is a Good Stuff website.