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 a long barrow orientated north west-south west and
located along the crest of a Greensand ridge. Viewed in plan the mound is 70m
long by 15m wide, with straight parallel sides and rounded ends. The sides are
steep and the top fairly flat; the overall height is about 1.5m. Flanking the
mound on its north east and south west sides are ditches from which material
was quarried during the construction of the monument. Although these have
become largely infilled over the years they survive as slight earthworks 1m
wide and 0.3m deep.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
20455
Legacy System:
RSM
Sources
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
