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.
Details
The monument includes a long barrow set on a ridge-top with extensive
views to the east and west. The monument tapers slightly in plan and
is orientated SSE-NNW with the broader end facing SSE. The barrow
mound survives to a length of 44m and a width of 17.5m at the south
end and 12m wide at the north end. It stands 2.4m high above narrow
sloping berms and 4.8m above two curving side ditches, from which
mound material was quarried and which are 14m wide and 0.5m deep. The
berms survive to an average width of 1.5m.
A difference in height of 1.7m between the surface of the berms and
the ground level outside the ditches suggests that the mound may have
been built on a small knoll on the hill top.
The site is visible from three other long barrows, at Knap barrow and
Grans barrow, 1.5km to the SW and a long barrow on Little Toyd Down
2.3km to the NW.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
12088
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
