Long barrow, 575m north-west of Lypiatt Farm

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.

Despite reduction in its height through cultivation, the long barrow 575m north-west of Lypiatt Farm survives well and will contribute to our understanding of the social organisation and burial practices of the county's Neolithic population. It is likely that the remains of the mound will protect archaeological and environmental evidence including a buried land surface, which will provide information about the landscape prior to the construction of the barrow. In addition the ditch will contain archaeological and environmental evidence relating to its construction and the landscape in which it was built.

Details

The monument includes the earthwork and buried remains of a Neolithic long barrow situated 575m north-west of Lypiatt Farm on a broad level hilltop to the west of the village of Miserden. The barrow includes a mound orientated north-east to south-west and is approximately 104m long. The mound measures up to 20m wide, tapering at its south-western end and, although reduced by ploughing, it survives up to 1m high in places. The soil on the mound is stonier than the rest of the field. The barrow is also clearly visible from the air as a crop mark (an area of enhanced crop growth resulting from higher levels of moisture retained by the underlying archaeological features), and has been recorded on aerial photographs. The flanking quarry ditch, from which material was excavated during the construction of the barrow, is no longer visible at ground level, having become infilled over the years, but will survive as a buried feature. The aerial photographs show an area of disturbance towards the northern end of the barrow which appears to be circular in form, although its origins are not known. It may relate to antiquarian excavation since sources suggest that this barrow is the one recorded by Dr Bird in 1880 which contained a cist.

MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract. It includes a 5 metre boundary around the archaeological features, considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

30972

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
O`Neil, H E, Grinsell, L V, Proc of the Bristol and Gloucestershire Arch Soc in Gloucestershire Barrows, Vol. 79, (1960), 69-96

Other
NMR National Mapping Programme, HOB UID 117204, (2010)

End of official list entry

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