Exploring Kent's Past

It should not be assumed that this site is publicly accessible and it may be on private property. Do not trespass.

Monument details

Summary

Two bowl barrows

Monument Types

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

Full description

If you do not understand anything on this page please contact us.

TR 213410. Two large bowl barrows at Hawkinge, in a wood belonging the the Ministry of Defence were examined in 1973 by D Sherlock of the DOE, who recommended scheduling. A) Diameter 37.0m, height 2.0m. No trace of ditch. B) Diameter 30.0m, height 1.8m. No trace of ditch. (1)

TR 213410. Two round barrows at SE corner of Reinden Wood. Scheduled. (2)

(Sited to TR 21274098 and TR 21284099 from maplet). (3)

Two bowl barrows, each comprising an earthen mound and an encircling ditch. Scheduled. (4)

Magnetometer survey identified one barrow quarry ditch and two small pits to the N side (5)

1991 Magnetometer survey of barrow site which provided some indication of the position of the barrow ditch. Another ditch or trench appears to adjoin the barrow on the east, but it is not clear form the survey findings whether or not this is of archaeological interest. There are anomalies towards the NE of the survey which could perhaps be small pits, but cannot be interpreted with much confidence in the disturbed conditions of the site.(6)

From the National heritage List for England:

Details
The monument includes a pair of circular barrows, each of which comprises an earthen mound and an encircling ditch. The mound of the north-eastern example measures 33m in diameter and survives to a height of just under 2m at its summit. On the north side the mound has been truncated slightly by a metalled road which overlies the ditch on this side. On the east side where it is most easily visible, the ditch measures some 7m from inner to outer edge. The second of the pair, the centre of which lies just 35m south-west of the other, is the smaller of the two. Its mound measures 30m across and stands to 1.8m. The surrounding ditch has been completely infilled by erosion from the mound so that it is not visible as an earthwork. The fence on the northern side of the monument, together with the metalling of the road, is excluded from the scheduling.

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 Reinden Wood barrows are large and well preserved examples which show no signs of having been dug into and which therefore have a particularly high archaeological potential. (8)

<1> Arch Cant 88 1973 217 (J Bradshaw) (OS Card Reference). SKE35943.

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

<3> DOE(IAM) Maplet (OS Card Reference). SKE41423.

<4> English Heritage SAMs 26-3-91 (OS Card Reference). SKE41629.

<5> Not applicable, SMR Kent uncatalogued index entry, Comm to KCC from AJ Clakr and ADH Bartlett 1991 (Miscellaneous Material). SKE6440.

<6> Clarke, A. J. & Bartlett, A. D. H., 1991, A260 Hawkinge By pass: Report on Magnetometer Survey of Barrow at Reinden Wood May 1991 (Unpublished document). SKE11920.

<7> Canterbury Archaeological Trust, 1991, A260 Hawkinge to Denton By-Pass: Initial Archaeological Field Survey (Unpublished document). SKE17210.

<8> English Heritage, Register of Scheduled Monuments (Scheduling record). SKE16191.

Sources and further reading