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 examples of
long barrows and long cairns, their counterparts in the uplands, are recorded
nationally. 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 is situated in a prominent position on Low Bradley Moor
overlooking Airedale and in close proximity to two small round cairns and a
ring cairn. The long barrow survives as a pile of millstone grit boulders 67m
long, 12m wide and approximately 0.8m high. Covering the south end is a
circular cairn 21.5m in diameter, superimposed on to the barrow, and rising in
profile above the spine in excess of 0.5m. Its original summit has been
removed and disturbance has been caused by stone robbing and excavation. Near
the centre of the mound is a hollow 3m by 2m in diameter and approximately
1.5m deep in which stands the remains of a stone cist. When discovered during
an excavation by Alan Butterfield in 1930, its capstone and dry-stone walled
ends were intact, it was 2m in length and 0.9m in width and depth. Now, the
base stone and two upright stones, one of which is cracked in half, remain
with part of the capstone. A single human burial and scattered cremated bone
lay under a slab in a paved floor recess. To the south and west of the cist
are two further hollows with diameters of 2m and depths of 0.5m-0.7m. Most of
the long barrow is intact; only its north eastern end has suffered badly from
stone robbing.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
24488
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
