Reasons for Designation
Long barrows were constructed as earthen or drystone mounds with
flanking ditches and acted as funerary monuments during the early
neolithic period (3000-2400bc). 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 partial human remains 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, unless
very severely damaged, are considered to be nationally important.
The 180 long barrows of Hampshire, Wiltshire and Dorset form the
densest and one of the most significant concentrations of monuments of
this type in the country. This example is regarded as important as it
survives well and, with no formal excavation, has considerable
archaeological potential.
Details
The monument includes a long barrow inconspicuously sited along a
gentle NW-facing slope and currently situated in a plantation. The
barrow mound has been partly disturbed by a chalk-pit and a transverse
disturbance of uncertain origin. The monument is orientated SE-NW and
tapers slightly in plan with the broader end to the SE where the mound
rises to a height of 2m.
The mound is 74m long, 21.5m wide at the east end and 18m wide at the
west end. Flanking quarry ditches run parallel to the mound on the NE
and SW sides and have an average width of 7.5m. These are not visible
as surface features but do survive below-ground.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
12099
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
