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 situated upon a spur on Bere Down,
overlooking the Bere valley to the south.
The long barrow has a mound, aligned north east by south west, composed of
flint, earth and chalk. The mound, which has maximum dimensions of 55m in
length, 24m in width and about 0.5m-0.75m in height, is associated with five
sarsen blocks which were revealed during the course of ploughing operations.
The sarsen stones were identified within the central and southern areas of the
mound and may relate to an inner chamber.
The mound is flanked on either side by a ditch from which material was
quarried during the construction of the monument. The ditches have become
infilled over the years, although the southern example is visible as a terrace
14m wide, running parallel to the length of the mound.
The long barrow later became incorporated within a prehistoric field boundary
and lynchets are known to have run up to the mound. The field system has since
been levelled by ploughing.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
28393
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
