Poor Lot Barrow Cemetery is an archaeological site, a group of

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

round barrows A round barrow is a type of tumulus and is one of the most common types of archaeological monuments. Although concentrated in Europe, they are found in many parts of the world, probably because of their simple construction and universal purpose. ...

, near the

A35 road The A35 is a major road in southern England, connecting Honiton in Devon and Southampton in Hampshire. It is a trunk road for some of its length. Most of its route passes through Dorset and the New Forest. It originally connected Exeter and Sou ...

about west of

Winterbourne Abbas Winterbourne Abbas is a village and civil parish in south west Dorset, England, situated in a valley on the A35 road west of Dorchester. In the 2011 census the parish had a population of 355. History In the early hours of 6 May 2023, a la ...

, in

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

, England. It is an

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...

site.

Description

Although the barrows are situated not on a ridge or hilltop, as is usually found, but on relatively low-lying ground, the site is near the head of a valley descending to the east. Most are south of the A35 road, with a few north of the road. They date from about 1500 BC."History of Winterbourne Poor Lot Barrows"
''English Heritage''. Retrieved 2 January 2022.Richard Wainwright. ''A Guide to the Prehistoric Remains in Britain. Volume 1: South and East''. Constable, 1979. Pages 128–129.'Earthworks: Round Barrows', in An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in Dorset, Volume 2, South east (London, 1970), pp. 434-480
British History Online. Retrieved 2 January 2022. There are 44 barrows. Half of these are

bowl barrow A bowl barrow is a type of burial mound or tumulus. A barrow is a mound of earth used to cover a tomb. The bowl barrow gets its name from its resemblance to an upturned bowl. Related terms include ''cairn circle'', ''cairn ring'', ''howe'', ''ker ...

s; the rest include seven

bell barrow A bell barrow, sometimes referred to as a Wessex type barrow, campanulate form barrow, or a bermed barrow, is a type of tumulus identified as such by both John Aubrey and William Stukeley. In the United Kingdom, they take the form of a circula ...

s, six

disc barrow A disc barrow is a type of tumulus or round barrow, a variety of fancy barrow identified in English Heritage's Monument Class Descriptions. A disc barrow comprises a circular or oval-shaped flat platform, defined by a continuous earthen bank an ...

s, five

pond barrow A pond barrow is a burial mound, circular in shape, well formed, and with an embanked rim made of the earth taken from the depression made in the ground. In the barrow's centre there is generally a pit or shaft, sometimes containing a burial, ...

s and two bell-disc barrows. The barrows, individually or in groups, are separately listed as

ancient monument An ancient monument can refer to any early or historical manmade structure or architecture. Certain ancient monuments are of cultural importance for nations and become symbols of international recognition, including the Baalbek, ruins of Baalbek ...

s. There is a minor plateau on the west of the site, from which all the barrows can be seen. These include two rough alignments of barrows south of the road, on the eastern edge of the plateau. The alignment nearer the road includes a large ditched bell barrow of diameter and height ; adjacent to this on the west is a disc barrow of diameter . To the south-west is the second alignment, where there is a prominent bell barrow of diameter and height . Two pond barrows were excavated in 1952–1953; pits and flint paving were found, but no burials; little is now left of the excavated barrows.

References

{{reflist Barrows in England Scheduled monuments in Dorset Archaeological sites in Dorset English Heritage sites in Dorset