Reasons for Designation
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 greater part of the barrow 300m east of Stone House survives well and
retains important archaeological information. The disturbance resulting from
construction of the sand bunker on the south-eastern side of the mound is
limited in scale, relative to the monument as a whole, and evidence concerning
the construction of the barrow, the manner and duration of its use, and also
the local environment, at and prior to the time of its construction, will be
contained in the barrow mound and in the soils preserved beneath it. It is one
of five which have survived in the vicinity, the others lying between 900m and
1330m to the south-west; together these will provide information on the use of
the area during the Bronze Age.
Details
The monument includes a bowl barrow, situated on the edge of a belt of rough
ground on Thorpeness Golf Course and visible as an earthen mound which covers
a circular area with a maximum diameter of 27m. It stands to a height of 1.1m
at the centre but appears flatter on the north-western side, where it is
c.0.4m in height. Approximately 15% of the area of the mound is occupied by a
sand bunker which has been dug into the south-eastern side of the barrow. The
upcast from this excavation forms a crescent-shaped ridge, c.0.4m in height,
on the north-western lip of the bunker, augmenting the mound at this point to
a total height of c.1.5m.
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.
