Norn`s Tump long barrow, 400m south-east of Hill Farm

Reasons for Designation

Long barrows were constructed as earthen or drystone mounds with flanking ditches and acted as funerary monuments during the Early and Middle Neolithic periods (3400-2400 BC). They represent the burial places of Britain's early farming communities and, as such, are amongst the oldest field monuments surviving visibly in the present landscape. Where investigated, long barrows appear to have been used for communal burial, often with only parts of the human remains having been selected for interment. Certain sites provide evidence for several phases of funerary monument preceding the barrow and, consequently, it is probable that long barrows acted as important ritual sites for local communities over a considerable period of time. Some 500 long barrows are recorded in England. As one of the few types of Neolithic structure to survive as earthworks, and due to their comparative rarity, their considerable age and their longevity as a monument type, all long barrows are considered to be nationally important.

Norn`s Tump long barrow survives well and will contain archaeological and environmental evidence relating to the monument and the landscape in which it was constructed. This barrow is a good example of a group of long barrows commonly referred to as the Cotswold-Severn group, named after the area in which they occur.

Details

The monument includes a chambered long barrow situated on a plateau in the area of the Cotswold Hills with views over the Avening Valley to the south, gently sloping land to the north and the adjacent ridge to the south-east. The barrow, which is known as Norn`s Tump, has a mound trapezoidal in plan and orientated east-west; it has dimensions of 52m from east to west and 25m from north to south. The mound is composed of small stones and has a maximum height near to the centre of 2.5m. An early illustration of the barrow suggests that it had two side chambers, both of which were visible in 1911. There are two large depressions on the southern side of the barrow`s mound which could mark the position of these chambers. The mound is flanked on each side by a ditch from which material was quarried during the construction of the monument. These have become infilled over the years, but will survive as buried features c.5m wide. Excluded from the scheduling are all hedges, dry-stone walling and fence posts relating to the land boundaries, although the ground beneath these features is included.

MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract. It includes a 2 metre boundary around the archaeological features, considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

22864

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
O`Neil, H E, Grinsell, L V, Proc of the Bristol and Gloucestershire Arch Soc in Gloucestershire Barrows, Vol. 179, (1960), 70

Other
Mention of sketch of burial chambers,

End of official list entry

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