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 south east facing slope
below the crest of a wide spur. The long barrow is orientated east-west but
has been rounded by cultivation. The mound is 48m long and has a maximum
width, at the centre, of 28m. It reaches a maximum height of 0.8m in the
part that is no longer under cultivation but elsewhere survives as a slight
rise approximately 0.3m high. Set into the east end of the mound is a large,
lozenge shaped stone, known locally as the Hoar Stone. To the south of the
centre of the mound is a large, kite shaped, capstone which covers a chamber.
This was excavated in 1806 by Anthony Preston and is reported to have been
divided into two segments and to have contained the remains of eight or nine
skeletons. Although no longer visible on the surface, quarry ditches will
flank either side of the mound and will survive as buried features 3m wide.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
29784
Legacy System:
RSM
End of official list entry
