Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

Bowl barrow 530m N of Langdon Abbey

Monument Types

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

Full description

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A large barrow 4' 6" in a ploughed field formerly downs atWest Langdon was opened by Woodruff and at a depth of 6 ft and below the natural surface some large stone laid out like a pavement were found. It was later learned that the barrow had been opened 20 years previously. (1) Enquiries of local farmers, search on the ground, inspection of tithe and other maps and enquires at local museums, and at Canterbury have failed to locate this barrow. (2) TR 32704749. The ploughed down remains of a large mound were noted in 1978 in the corner of a field, some 650 metres north north east of Langdon Abbey (TR 34 NW 7). There seems little doubt that this represents the remains of a round barrow and it is very likely the one opened by Woodruff in the 1870's. The mound is situated immediately west of the cross-roads formed by the roads running from West Langdon to Martin and from Whitfield to Sutton. It is on the top of a chalk ridge, about 77 metres above OD. The mound is roughly 32 metres in diameter and about 1 metre high. There is no indication of any disturbance on the top, where Woodruff presumably dug, but ploughing would have obscured all such traces. (3)

From the National Heritage List for England:

Details:

The monument includes a bowl barrow situated on a chalk rise in the south eastern foothills of the Kent Downs. The barrow has a circular mound 23m in diameter and surviving to a height of c.0.75m, surrounded by a ditch from which material used to construct the barrow was excavated. The ditch has become infilled over the years, but is visible on aerial photographs as a dark ring, indicating that it survives as a buried feature c.4.5m wide. The barrow is believed to have been partially excavated by antiquarians during the 19th century.

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.

Despite some disturbance by ploughing and partial excavation, the bowl barrow 530m north of Langdon Abbey survives comparatively well and will contain archaeological remains and environmental evidence relating to the monument and the landscape in which it was constructed. Situated close to the barrow is a possible Springfield style enclosure and a group of associated prehistoric linear ditches. These monuments are broadly contemporary and their close association will provide evidence for the relationship between settlement, ceremonial and burial practices during the period of their construction and use. (5)

<1> Arch Cant 9 1874 21 28 (C H Woodruff) (OS Card Reference). SKE36001.

<2> F1 ASP 10.06.64 (OS Card Reference). SKE42026.

<3> KAR 71 1983 11 (K Parfitt) (OS Card Reference). SKE45413.

<4> Field report for monument TR 34 NW 12 - June, 1964 (Bibliographic reference). SKE5936.

<5> English Heritage, Register of Scheduled Monuments (Scheduling record). SKE16191.

Sources and further reading