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 Long Barrow is situated on level ground at the crest of a chalk spur
overlooking the Cuckmere Valley and present day Alfriston. It is orientated
NE-SW, with the slightly broader and higher end to the NE.
The most distinctive feature of the monument is the elongated earthen mound
which measures 56m in length and some 20m in width. At its highest point the
mound stands some 1.5m above the level of the surrounding land. Less obvious
but nevertheless discernible are a pair of flanking ditches which parallel the
mound and from which the chalk and earth used to construct the mound was
quarried. The ditches curve around the ends of the mound but do not meet.
There is evidence of a number of excavations at the site of the monument in
the form of three marked hollows towards the NE end. At least one was created
in 1767, when 'a skeleton and an urn' were discovered, but these finds
probably relate to the reuse of the mound in the Bronze Age.
Comparison with other monuments of the same form indicates that this example
originated in the Neolithic period.
The monument lies at the junction of downland paths, one of which skirts the
mound at its NE end. Here the surface of the path is excluded from the
scheduling, although the ground beneath is included.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
12774
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
