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 includes the remains of a long barrow located on the south side
of the parish boundary between Harpley and West Rudham, on what was formerly
heathland. The site is on level ground at the western edge of the Good Sands
upland region of north west Norfolk. The barrow is visible in part as a
sub-oval earthen mound, standing to a height of c.1.2m and covering an area
with maximum dimensions of c.31m north-south by 23m east-west. This is at
the southern end of a longer mound, the northern part of which has been much
reduced, although the continuation is still marked for a maximum distance of
c.12m by a slight rise of c.0.15m in the ground surface. Beyond this, the
northern end of the barrow has been obscured by the minor road between Harpley
and Weasenham St Peter, which here runs north west-south east along the
southern side of the parish boundary. Since the survival and extent of any
remains beneath and beyond the road have not been established, however, this
part is not included in the scheduling. The mound is surrounded by a ditch
which in 1938, before the heath was ploughed, was visible as a hollow c.4.5m
wide in the ground surface. The overall maximum dimensions of the barrow
south of the road, including the ditch, were recorded at that time as 46m
north-south by 27.5m east-west. The ditch is no longer visible, but will
survive as a buried feature and is included in the scheduling.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
21343
Legacy System:
RSM
Sources
Books and journals 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
