Over the last few years I’ve come to realise that in the areas North of the South Downs, particularly in Hampshire and West Sussex, there are far more barrows and barrow cemeteries on low lying Wealden areas than there are on the Downs themselves. Why this is I’m not sure, but a recent visit to Petersfield Heath made me wonder if it was more to do with water. The cemetery at Petersfield is very close to a small lake, arranged slightly to the North East of the lake with some barrows almost overlooking it. There’s always been a connection between Bronze Age sites and water as water was deemed to be something sacred and large amounts of offerings have traditionally been associated with lakes and rivers. Maybe this is the case here too, though I’ve no idea if the lake is really old or a more modern bit of man-made landscaping!