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. The long barrow 180m north of Lime House survives comparatively well despite
an area of localised disturbance of the northwestern end, possibly caused by
previous partial excavation.
The monument is a rare example of a long barrow in an area which otherwise
contains a concentration of later burial monuments.
Details
The monument includes a long barrow orientated southeast to northwest and
located on level ground 180m north of Lime House. It is visible as a barrow
mound 48m long, 27m wide and c.2.75m high at its highest point. A hollow at
the northwestern end of the barrow mound may be the result of previous partial
excavation, although no details are known.
Although no longer visible at ground level, a pair of ditches, from which
material was quarried during the construction of the monument, run parallel to
the barrow mound on the southwest and northeast sides. These have become
infilled over the years but survive as buried features c.3m wide. 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:
13925
Legacy System:
RSM
Sources
Books and journals Grinsell, L, 'Proceedings of the Somerset Archaeology and Natural Hist Soc' in Somerset Barrows Part II, , Vol. Vol 115, (1971), p. 84Other ST 65 SW 10, Ordnance Survey, ST 65 SW 10, (1960)
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.
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