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.
Lamborough Banks long barrow and the long barrow 240m to the south east of it
are comparatively well preserved examples of their class and are known from
part excavation to contain archaeological remains providing information about
Neolithic beliefs, economy and environment.
Details
The monument, which falls into two areas, includes two long barrows situated
on level ground immediately below the crest of a hill. Lamborough Banks, to
the north is the larger of the two barrows and lies close to a steep north
west facing slope overlooking a dry valley. The barrow, which falls within the
Cotswold-Severn tradition of tombs, is orientated NNW-SSE and has a mound 98m
long, 2m high and 38m wide at its widest (SSE) end. The barrow lies within a
plantation but extends out into the adjacent field to the south west where it
is visible as a pronounced rise. The barrow was partially excavated in 1854 by
Canon Samuel Lysons who uncovered dry-stone walls, faced on both sides, which
formed `V' shaped horns to a blind entrance at the south end. These walls
continued to the north, circumscribing the barrow and revetting the mound. A
single inhumation was found within a stone lined chamber near the northern end
of the mound. The monument is overgrown and has a very irregular appearance as
a consequence of Lysons' excavations and there are no visible signs of the
horned entrance, revetting walls or burial chamber.
The long barrow 240m south east of Lamborough Banks is orientated WNW-ESE and
has a low, irregular, mound 46m long by 14m wide and 0.5m high. On the
southern slope of the mound, towards the west end, is a circular underground
chamber constructed of dry-stone walling. This was partially excavated in 1865
by Samuel Lysons and again, in 1925, by A D Passmore. The chamber is in the
shape of a beehive and has three stone seats, above which are three niches
from where the wall is corbelled to an entrance at the top, 2m from the floor.
No dating evidence was recovered and the chamber is backfilled, although the
top few courses of stone are still visible. This is an unusual feature in a
long barrow, although similar structures have been recorded elsewhere on the
Cotswolds.
Although no longer visible on the surface, quarry ditches will flank either
side of both long barrow mounds and will survive as buried features 3m wide.
The modern field boundary wall on the south west side of Lamborough Banks and
the fencing on the north east side 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.
