Characteristics of 71 lines of Bronze Age round barrows in Dorset and in the New Forest.

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Bennett, Gerald (2024) Characteristics of 71 lines of Bronze Age round barrows in Dorset and in the New Forest.

Historic Environment Records for Dorset and for Hampshire have details of 3,587 round barrows or ring ditches. This study used two methods to identify potential linear arrangements of such sites in the study area. The first involved having a computer programme developed into which all National Grid References (NGRs) were entered, and the programme then searched for probable lines of barrows (according to a set of criteria clarified for the study). The second involved searching the online National Heritage List for England (NHLE) to find putative examples in the study area (Historic England, 2024). The two sets of possible lines were compared against the criteria and 73 lines were identified. Two of these were discarded following site visits. Unsurprisingly, the computer aided lines included those which had been recorded in the past but no longer existed, and were not recorded in the NHLE (which lists existing sites).

Dataset Details

Alternative Title:

Were linear arrangements of Bronze Age round barrows constructed to 'point towards' the position on the horizon where Winter Solstice sunsets occurred in 2000BC?

Research / Data Type:

Database

Creators:

Creators	Email
Bennett, Gerald	f7897683@bournemouth.ac.uk

Groups:

Faculty of Science & Technology

Contributors:

Contribution	Name	Email
Thesis advisor	Silva, Fabio	01202 961804

Collection period:

From	To
April 2021	March 2023

Temporal Extent:

From	To
April 2001	March 2003

Date:

September 2024

Date type:

Submission

Geographic coverage:

England, Dorset, New Forest (Hampshire)

Data collection method:

Identify lines of barrows in the study area. Gather previous published information, if such existed, study the area using LIDAR, old maps, and other sources, and, where possible visiting sites . The researcher entered the University at a time when the Covid laws made fieldwork to be impossible, therefore the initial plan of using equipment to survey on site was not then feasible. The approach altered to use available data on the central points of barrows, which could be used to measure the directions (azimuths) of lines of barrows and to test the hypotheses about the prevalence of different directions of lines using calculation rather than surveying. Appropriate software was used to calculate the azimuths of lines, and to reconstruct the bare landscapes visible from observation points 25 metres from the edges of the outer barrows in each line ('Horizon' programme, Smith , A. 2020 Horizon v0.13c.). The final data were tested for the prevalence of azimuths of lines, where they pointed towards, to see if there were any significant patterns in this (using Dr Fabio Silva's 'skyscapeR' progarmme)

Statement on legal, ethical and access issues:

The researcher was supervised by a team of Dr Fabio Silva (Deputy Head of Department of Archaeology and Anthropology) and the late Professor Tim Darvill , with both of whom he discussed such issues. One ethical issue concerned gaining access to sites which were on private land. This was dealt with by asking permission from the landowner or representative, and by following their requirements, such as how to reach sites, waiting till after harvest, or the breeding period for rare birds. The process of dealing with such issues was monitored by the routine reviews of the project by academics uninvolved in it that are part of the University's academic struture.

Additional information:

By 'publication' I mean that by submitting my thesis to the University and having it accepted, and the University making it available to interested people, to read, is a process of publication. Clearly publication in a peer reviewed journal may be a possibility.

Keywords:

developing criteria for lines to enter the study: systematic searching for lines which met the criteria: comparing these against criteria: measuring azimuths of lines of barrows: creating images of landscapes: calculating which directions of lines recurred significantly

Status:

Unpublished

Publisher:

Bournemouth University

The researcher

Contact email address:

bordar@bournemouth.ac.uk

Record Details

DOI:	https://doi.org/10.18746/bmth.data.00000422
Depositing User:	Gerald Bennett
Year Deposited:	05 Dec 2024 11:52
Revision:	13
Last Modified:	05 Dec 2024 11:53

Available Files

Full Archive

Table 1 Information ... barrows studied.csv

Table 2 Positions ... of round barrows.csv

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