Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

Round barrow

Monument Types

• ROUND BARROW (Bronze Age - 2350 BC to 701 BC)

Full description

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`Pits and tumuli' in Westwood, Lyminge. For the Pits see TR 14 SW 19) (1)

TR 13654303 `B': Bowl barrow 21.0m average diameter and 2.2 m in height. Tree covered, slightly mutilated on the N. side by a track, fair condition. T(2)

(TR 136430) Group of six round barrows in West Wood. Scheduled. (3)

From the National Heritage List for England:

Details:

This example lies 120m east of its nearest neighbour on the western side of West Wood, 200m from Stone Street. The monument includes a bowl barrow which comprises an earthen mound and an encircling ditch. The mound measures 22m in diameter and survives to an impressive height averaging 2.2m above the level of the surrounding, slightly sloping, land. The surrounding ditch, which is most easily visible on the western side, occupies the area within 5m of the foot of the mound. It was dug to provide the earth and flint rubble for the construction of the mound. The mound and ditch together have a diameter of 32m.

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 barrow 200m from Stone Street is the best surviving example of the group in West Wood, exhibiting both a prominent mound and a clearly visible ditch. As the most intact of the group, it holds considerable archaeological potential for the recovery of evidence of the manner and duration of its use, as well as of the environment in which it was constructed. The group of which the barrow is a member illustrates the importance of the locality for burials in the Bronze Age. (15)

<1> Arch J 40 1883 292 (F C J Spurrell) (OS Card Reference). SKE36629.

<2> F1 CFW 23.04.63 (OS Card Reference). SKE42713.

<3> DOE (IAM) AMs Eng 2 1978 109 (OS Card Reference). SKE40685.

<4> AM 7 D Sherlock 1972 (OS Card Reference). SKE33004.

<5> AM 12 J Melhuish 14.3.80 (OS Card Reference). SKE33003.

<6> AM 107 K Chant 27.6.84 (OS Card Reference). SKE33001.

<7> DOE (IAM) Record Form 3.11.86 (OS Card Reference). SKE40750.

<8> Arch Cant 85 1970 178-9 (J Bradshaw) (OS Card Reference). SKE35801.

<9> OS 1:10,000 1977 (OS Card Reference). SKE48143.

<10> Field report for monument TR 14 SW 7 - April, 1963 (Bibliographic reference). SKE5449.

<11> English Heritage Schedule Amendment 18-Apr-1991 (OS Card Reference). SKE41638.

<13> Terence O'Rourke PLC, 1994, West Wood scoping report and progress review (Unpublished document). SKe6916.

<14> Rank Holiday & Hotels Developments Ltd, 1994, Environmental Statement (Supplementary) Proposed Oasis Holiday Villase at West Wood (Unpublished document). SKe6919.

<15> English Heritage, Register of Scheduled Monuments (Scheduling record). SKE16191.

Sources and further reading