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.
Details
The monument includes a long barrow situated on a plateau 100m north of
Oldfield Wood in an area of the Cotswold Hills.
The monument has a mound composed of small stones. It is orientated south east
to north west, with maximum dimensions of 44m by 30m and a maxmimum height of
c.0.45m. The mound is now crossed by a stone boundary wall orientated north
east to south west, 17m from the western end of the barrow. On the western
side of the boundary wall the mound has a maximum height of c.0.25m. Flanking
the mound on either side is a quarry ditch from which material was taken
during the construction of the monument. These ditches are no longer visible
at ground level as they have become infilled over the years, although they
will survive as buried features c.5m wide.
Excluded from the scheduling are the fence posts relating to the field
boundary, although the drystone wall and the ground beneath all these features
is included.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
22910
Legacy System:
RSM
Sources
Other
Legal
This monument is scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 as amended as it appears to the Secretary of State to be of national importance. This entry is a copy, the original is held by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
End of official list entry
