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 Neolithic long barrow situated on level ground 140m
north west of Cooks Cottages. The barrow is not visible at ground level,
having been largely reduced by ploughing over time, but is visible on aerial
photographs as an oval enclosure defined by a single continuous ditch
measuring 75m long and 25m wide. The ditch, from which material was quarried
to construct the mound, has become infilled over time, but both the ditch and
the remains of the mound will preserve archaeological remains including traces
of the Neolithic land surface.
The barrow was first identified from aerial photographs during the course of
the Thames Valley Mapping Project undertaken by The Royal Commission on the
Historical Monuments of England. A Romano-British settlement approximately
350m north of the barrow and another long barrow 180m to the north are the
subject of separate schedulings.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
31431
Legacy System:
RSM
Sources
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
