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 Hunters' Burgh is situated on sloping ground overlooking the western edge
of the Pevensey Levels and has the appearance of being sited on the crest of
the hill. It is orientated approximately north-south, with the broader and
higher end to the south.
The most distinctive feature of the monument is the elongated earthen mound,
measuring some 65m in length and 14m-17m in width. At the southern end, where
digging by an antiquitarian has mutilated the earthwork to give it the
appearance of a more circular monument, the mound reaches a height of nearly
2m above the general ground level. The height diminishes to the north, where
erosion has had a greater effect. Less obvious features of the monument are
the flanking ditches which parallel the mound, imperceptibly on the eastern
side where the effect of erosion of the mound has been greater, but quite
clearly on the western side. It was these ditches from which the chalk used to
construct the mound was quarried.
No records survive of the excavation which mutilated the southern end of the
monument. Field survey early this century, however, suggested that the
flanking ditches joined around the northern end of the monument to form an
elongated horseshoe shape in plan.
The fence on the eastern side of the monument, which overlies the flanking
ditch for part of its length and the surface of the footpath beside the fence
are excluded from the scheduling, but the ground beneath both these features
is included.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
12772
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
