Reasons for Designation
The most complete and extensive survival of chalk downland archaeological
remains in central southern England occurs on Salisbury Plain, particularly in
those areas lying within the Salisbury Plain Training Area. These remains
represent one of the few extant archaeological "landscapes" in Britain and are
considered to be of special significance because they differ in character from
those in other areas with comparable levels of preservation. Individual sites
on Salisbury Plain are seen as being additionally important because the
evidence of their direct association with each other survives so well.
Twenty-eight Neolithic long barrows have been identified in the Salisbury
Plain Training Area. As a monument type long barrows are sufficiently rare
nationally that, unless severely damaged, all examples surviving as earthworks
are considered to be of national importance.
Details
The monument includes a long barrow lying across a north east facing spur
below the crest of Copehill Down. The barrow has a trapezoidal mound 85m
long, orientated east-west, which reaches a maximimum width of 35m and a
maximimum height of 2.5m at its eastern end. The mound tapers to the western
end where it is 23m wide and 1.8m high. Flanking either side of the mound are
well defined ditches from which material was quarried for its construction.
The southern, upslope, side ditch is 1.8m deep and up to 19m wide and the
northern, downslope, side ditch is 0.9m deep and up to 12m wide. At the
eastern end of the barrow the overall width of the mound and flanking ditches
is 66m, reducing to 54m at its western end. A geophysical survey undertaken by
the Ancient Monuments Laboratory suggests the presence of a forecourt at the
eastern end of the mound.
Excluded from the scheduling are the boundary fence surrounding the monument
and the badger proof chain-link netting that covers it, although the ground
beneath these features is included.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
31187
Legacy System:
RSM
End of official list entry
