Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

One of 6 Bowl barrows in Eggringe Wood.

Monument Types

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

Full description

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TR 096504, six round barrows in Eggringe Wood. (1) TR 10155079 (3), Barrow (listed by (2) as 'A') dia 16 yds, ht 2.5 ft (2) or dia 15m, ht 0.6m (3). A symmetrical mound without trace of a ditch. (For the other barrows scheduled by (1), see TR 04 NE 25 and TR 05 SE 21). Scheduled. (2-3)

From the National Heritage List for England:

The monument includes a bowl barrow which comprises an earthen mound encircled by a now-infilled quarry ditch. The mound is small compared with several examples in the locality, measuring some 16m in diameter and standing to 0.4m above the level of the surrounding land. The surrounding ditch has been completely obscured by soil eroded from the mound. The mound and ditch together have a diameter of 20m.

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. Their ubiquity and their tendency to occupy prominent locations makes them 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.

Although this monument has suffered erosion to a greater degree than most in the locality, its archaeological potential remains significant because both the original ground surface, with its evidence of the pre-barrow land-use and environment, and any burials inserted below the ground level will survive. The easternmost barrow in Eggringe Wood is one of a group of six similar examples in the immediate locality. Such a concentration is unusual in Kent and together the barrows demonstrate the importance of the area for burial in the Bronze Age. (4)

<1> DOE(IAM) AMs Eng 2 1978 109 (OS Card Reference). SKE41412.

<2> DOE(IAM) Record Form (OS Card Reference). SKE41430.

<3> Arch Cant 87 1972 233 (J Bradshaw) (OS Card Reference). SKE35904.

<4> English Heritage, Register of Scheduled Monuments (Scheduling record). SKE16191.

Sources and further reading