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 situated on the shoulder of a plateau and
covered by trees and scrub in an area of arable cultivation. Although much of
the barrow mound survives as an earthwork, part of it was damaged by quarrying
before 1866. The mound is orientated SE-NW and is about 50m long by 20m wide,
the NW and SE ends of the mound being under cultivation. It appears curved in
plan and survives to a maximum height of 1m.
Flanking quarry ditches run parallel to the mound on the north and south
sides. The southern ditch survives beneath the track which runs adjacent to
the mound, and the northern ditch in an arable field. In the medieval period
the mound was a landmark on the boundary between the tithings of West and East
Martin.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
12097
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
