Long barrow 650m WSW of Shepherds' Shore

Reasons for Designation

A small number of areas in southern England appear to have acted as foci for ceremonial and ritual activity during the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age periods. Two of the best known and earliest recognised, with references in the 17th century, are around Avebury and Stonehenge, now jointly designated as a World Heritage Site. In the Avebury area, the henge monument itself, the West Kennet Avenue, the Sanctuary, West Kennet long barrow, Windmill Hill causewayed enclosure and the enigmatic Silbury Hill are well-known. Whilst the other Neolithic long barrows, the many Bronze Age round barrows and other associated sites are less well-known, together they define one of the most rich and varied areas of Neolithic and Bronze Age ceremonial and ritual monuments in the country. 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 it is probable that long barrows acted as important ritual sites for local communities over a considerable period of time. Some 500 long barrows and long cairns, their counterparts in the uplands, are recorded in England of which fifteen survive in the Avebury area. These represent an important group for understanding the historical context within which Avebury developed during the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age periods; all are considered to be worthy of protection.

Despite having been reduced by cultivation, the long barrow 650m WSW of Shepherds' Shore is known from excavation to contain archaeological and environmental evidence relating to its construction, funerary function and the landscape in which it was built. This is a rare example of a long barrow constructed without the excavation of quarry ditches.

Details

The monument includes a Neolithic long barrow, 650m WSW of Shepherds' Shore. It is situated on a false crest overlooking a slight valley to the south and west. The barrow is aligned ENE-WSW, is oval in shape and lies about 500m south of the Wansdyke. The barrow mound has been reduced by cultivation over the years but survives as a visible earthwork measuring 35m long and 16m wide. It stands up to 0.2m high. Originally, it stood at least 1m high and is known from partial excavation in the early 1800s to have contained both inhumation and cremation burials. Unusually, it appears that the barrow mound was constructed without flanking quarry ditches. Chalk and turf was gathered from nearby fields to construct the mound and use was made of the natural contours of the slope to enhance its profile.

MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract. It includes a 2 metre boundary around the archaeological features, considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

21896

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Other
SU06NW 674, C.A.O., Wansdyke, (1979)
SU06NW 109, C.A.O., Neolithic long barrow, (1979)

End of official list entry

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