Long barrow on Keysley Down, 1020m NNE of Chapel Field Barn

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.

The long barrow on Keysley Down, 1020m NNE of Chapel Field Barn is, despite some erosion caused by cultivation, a comparatively well preserved example of its class. The barrow exhibits a recognisable profile and will include archaeological remains containing information about Neolithic beliefs, economy and environment.

Details

The monument includes a long barrow lying on the crest of a chalk ridge 1020m NNE of Chapel Field Barn. The barrow includes a mound, aligned north west- south east, which is 42m long, a maximum of 25m wide and reaches a maximum height of 1m at its north western end. Traces of a quarry ditch approximately 6m wide can be seen flanking both sides of the mound. All marker posts are excluded from the scheduling although the ground beneath these features is included.

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:

26814

Legacy System:

RSM

End of official list entry

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