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 400m north west of Sevenbarrows House. The
monument survives as an earthwork with the eastern end standing to a height of
1.5m. It is orientated east-west with the eastern end partly in woodland. On
the north side of the mound the ditch is most clearly defined, surviving to a
width of c.8m and a depth of up to 0.4m. The mound survives to a length of
70m and a width of 18m.
Partial excavation in 1964 produced a crouched female adult burial with
perforated marine shells as well as other bones, animal and human, flint tools
and pottery. The site has also been dated to 3415 BC, currently the earliest
date for a long barrow in Britain.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
12025
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
