A community project hosted by Petersfield Museum and Art Gallery
Around 4,000 years ago, Early Bronze Age people buried their dead in barrows. 21 barrows survive on Petersfield Heath, showing the significance of the area long before the town existed.
During the four-year project ‘People of the Heath’, archaeologists and volunteers excavated 14 of the Heath barrows. They discovered cremation urns and evidence of a variety of different funeral practices. They also revealed a Stone Age campsite floor with thousands of flint tools and flakes from about 9,000 years ago.
A full publication of the projects findings 'Barrows at the Core of Bronze Age Communities' can be read online free here.
You can also find out more about the project through the People of the Heath Bulletins by clicking the links below:
Understanding and Conserving Petersfield's Prehistoric Barrows (July 2014)
Understanding and Conserving Petersfield's Prehistoric Barrows (October 2014)
Understanding and Conserving Petersfield's Prehistoric Barrows (May 2015)
Understanding and Conserving Petersfield's Prehistoric Barrows (November 2015)
Understanding and Conserving Petersfield's Prehistoric Barrows (May 2016)
Understanding and Conserving Petersfield's Prehistoric Barrow (July 2016)
Understanding and Conserving Petersfield's Prehistoric Barrows (June 2017)
Preliminary Report on the grave goods from Petersfield Heath Barrows 11 and 13