3/. The Survey Course - University College London

Six barrows appear clearly on the earliest Ordnance Survey maps of the area, along
with the scarp perpendicular dykes, which are designated as “intrenchments”; also
visible are three further barrows on the ridge to the east. The scarp perpendicular cross
dykes are found at various locations along the escarpment ridge. Unlike at Bow Hill,
where a group of cross dykes partially encircles the summit of Bow Hill, and where it
is postulated that these bank and ditch constructions were constructed at key points
around the summit to complement and enhance the natural topography of the hill
(Tilley 2004); the purpose of these downland escarpment cross dykes remains
unknown.
Fig. 2. Map of the Heyshott and Graffham Down from 1840, showing the barrow
cemetery, cross dykes, and other barrows along the ridge.
The 1874 25inch map continues to show six barrows together with the cross dykes; by
1897 the number of recorded barrows has increased to nine and it remains this number
on the 1978 map. This sheet also shows the post-war spread of forestry up the scarp
and onto the ridge (Figs 3a-3c).
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