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 on a slight east-west ridge at
Mount Pleasant on the northern boundary of the parish of Beckington.
The barrow is orientated east-west and has a mound approximately 35m long with
a maximum width of 21m. Although no longer visible on the surface, side
ditches flank either side of the mound and survive as buried features
approximately 3m wide. The west end of the mound is under cultivation and
survives as a low rise approximately 0.3m high that gradually merges with the
natural ridge. The east end survives as a heavily disturbed mound up to 1m
high within an area of mature trees. Along the central axis of this end of the
mound are a number of large stones, both upright and recumbent and it has been
suggested that these may have formed parts of a central passage and side
chambers.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
29782
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
