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 set on a local promontory in the valley of
the River Wylye. The barrow mound is 70m long, 22m wide and c.3m high. It is
orientated NNW-SSE and is ovoid in plan. Although no longer visible at ground
level ditches, from which material was quarried during the construction of the
monument, flank the mound to the east and west. These have become infilled
over the years but survive as buried features c.5m wide. The site has been
partially excavated on two occasions, by Colt-Hoare and Cunnington. Finds
have included a cremation burial and numerous later burials. Part of the
mound was removed in the 19th century leaving a scar at the northern end of
the monument.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
12294
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
