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Five Marys Tumuli

This group of barrows were shown as 'Five meers' (boundary marks) on Taylor's map of Dorset in 1765. Two of the barrows in the group were excavated before 1866 under the direction of the exiled Duchess of Berry who resided at Lulworth Castle after the dethronement of Charles Xth of France in 1830. In one barrow a deep chalk-cut grave was found containing an adult male and female in sitting positions. Both skeletons had stag antlers on each shoulder. The second barrow also contained a skeleton in a deep chalk-cut grave with stag antlers similarly positioned. This barrow also contained a secondary cremation in the upper part of the mound. It is thought that the two excavated barrows were the first and the third large barrows from the west end of the cemetery.