Entrance grave 290m south west of Brane End Farm

Reasons for Designation

Entrance graves are funerary and ritual monuments dating to the later Neolithic, Early and Middle Bronze Age (c.2500-1000 BC). They were constructed with a roughly circular mound of heaped rubble and earth, up to 25m in diameter, the perimeter of which may be defined by a kerb of edge-set slabs or, occasionally, coursed stone. The mound contains a rectangular chamber built of edge-set slabs or coursed rubble walling, or a combination of both. The chamber was roofed by further slabs, called capstones, spanning the walls. The chamber was accessible via a gap in the mound's kerb or outer edge and often extends back beyond the centre of the mound. Excavations within entrance graves have revealed cremated human bone and funerary urns, usually within the chambers but on occasion within the mound. Unburnt human bone has been recovered but is only rarely preserved. Some chambers have also produced ritual deposits of domestic midden debris, including dark earth typical of the surface soil found in settlements, animal bone and artefact fragments. Entrance graves may occur as single monuments or in small or large groups often associated with other cairn types in cemeteries. Entrance graves are one of several forms of chambered tombs found in western Britain and adjacent areas to the south, including the Channel Islands and Brittany. In England, entrance graves are confined to the extreme south west, with 79 of the 93 recorded surviving examples located on the Isles of Scilly and the remaining 14 located in Penwith peninsula at the western tip of Cornwall. Despite partial early robbing, the entrance grave 290m south west of Brane End Farm is one of a very rare group of monuments, is one of the smallest and one of the best preserved. It will contain archaeological and environmental evidence relating to its construction, longevity, funerary and ritual significance and practices, social organisation and overall landscape context.

Details

The monument includes an entrance grave, situated in a low-lying position close to the upper Lamorna River. The entrance grave survives as a circular mound of stones and earth measuring up to 6.1m in diameter and 2.3m high retained by a kerb of large granite blocks. It contains a rectangular stone-lined chamber measuring 2.3m long by 1.2m wide and 0.9m high which is covered with two large capstones.

The entrance grave was first discovered by Borlase in April 1863 and the farmer at the time said he had not destroyed it because it made a useful shelter for sheep and pigs.

Sources: HER:- PastScape Monument No:-422523

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

CO 99

Legacy System:

RSM - OCN

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