Slatepits Copse long barrow, 1km SE of High Lodge in Wychwood Forest

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.

Despite having been partially disturbed by excavation, the long barrow 1km south-east of High Lodge survives well and will contain archaeological and environmental evidence relating to its construction and the landscape in which it was built.

Details

The monument includes a chambered long barrow situated 1km south-east of High Lodge in Wychwood Forest. The barrow is orientated east-west and occupies a false crest, part way down a steep south-facing slope which looks across a narrow valley. It is located 400m south-west of the Churchill Copse long barrow. Despite having suffered some disturbance, the barrow survives as an earthwork 27.6m long and up to 2m high; it is 19m across at its eastern end and 14m wide at its western end. The eastern facade, which forms the front of the barrow, has at its centre a 1.5m wide stone-lined passage leading c.4m into the mound. Although the roof of this passage is no longer present and the rear wall has collapsed forward, some of the monolithic slabs used to construct the passage remain in place. These measure up to 3m across and 0.3m thick. Beyond this passage is a disturbed area c.2m across and 0.3m deep which appears to represent either collapse of the passage roof or partial excavation of the mound. A further area of subsidence 2.3m wide runs south from this disturbance to the edge of the mound and appears to be a back-filled excavation trench. Parallel to the mound and c.6.6m out from either edge are two flanking quarry ditches from which material was obtained during the construction of the mound. These have become largely infilled over the years although the southern ditch is visible as a shallow depression c.6.6m wide and 28m long. The northern ditch survives as a buried feature. To the east of the barrow mound is a level area 5.4m wide which represents the forecourt where the dead were brought prior to burial. This area appears as a level platform, its eastern edge marked by a return to the natural slope of the hill.

MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract. It includes a 2 metre boundary around the archaeological features, considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

21769

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Other
Title: Ordnance Survey 6" Source Date: 1930 Author: Publisher: Surveyor:
REF:O.G.S CRAWFORD 1922 as does AM107, C.A.O., Slatepits Copse Long Barrow,

End of official list entry

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