Ancient Monuments

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Bowl barrow 650m south of The Friary of St Francis

A Scheduled Monument in Batcombe, Dorset

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Coordinates

Latitude: 50.8326 / 50°49'57"N

Longitude: -2.5237 / 2°31'25"W

OS Eastings: 363217.361261

OS Northings: 103804.631711

OS Grid: ST632038

Mapcode National: GBR MT.WY5N

Mapcode Global: FRA 56LW.YF8

Entry Name: Bowl barrow 650m south of The Friary of St Francis

Scheduled Date: 10 June 1965

Last Amended: 8 December 1997

Source: Historic England

Source ID: 1017925

English Heritage Legacy ID: 29570

County: Dorset

Civil Parish: Batcombe

Traditional County: Dorset

Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): Dorset

Church of England Parish: Batcombe St Mary

Church of England Diocese: Salisbury

Details

The monument includes a bowl barrow on Batcombe Hill 650m south of The Friary
of St Francis. The barrow has a mound, previously recorded as being 11m in
diameter, and approximately 0.1m high. Surrounding the mound is a quarry ditch
from which material was excavated during its construction. This has become
infilled over the years but survives as a buried feature approximately 2m
wide. The barrow lies within a prehistoric field system.

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 bowl barrow on Batcombe Hill 650m south of the Friary of St Francis,
although reduced in height by ploughing, will contain archaeological remains
providing information about Bronze Age burial practices, economy and
environment.

Source: Historic England

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