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

Bowl barrow, the northernmost of six in Eggringe Wood.

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.

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 measures 22m in diameter and stands to 1.3m above the level of the surrounding land. The ditch has been infilled by soil washed from the mound and by leaf-litter and is no longer visible. The mound and ditch together have a diameter of 26m.

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.

The northernmost 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.

Historic England, National Heritage List for England (Index). SKE29372.

Sources and further reading