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 barrow known as Longman's Hill is located at the western end of Pitsford
village, just to the north of the High Street.
This long barrow consists of a rectangular mound, which measures 30m from east
to west and 11m from north to south. The barrow stands 1.5m high at the east
end and 2m high at the west end with a flat top about 3m wide. At the western
end the mound has been truncated by a modern pathway, but the major part of
the barrow mound is complete. There is no trace of the side ditches but it is
considered that the northern ditch remains buried and that the southern ditch
was damaged when the adjacent road was built in the 19th century. The
northern ditch is believed to survive to its original width of 4m while the
surviving portion of the southern ditch is 2m wide. It is recorded that a
tumulus containing Saxon burials was explored in the vicinity in the last
century, although the location of this investigation is not known with
certainty. It is possible that the Neolithic long barrow was reused for
burials in the Saxon period.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
13671
Legacy System:
RSM
Sources
Books and journals
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
