Summary
A Neolithic long barrow and Bronze Age round barrow, the latter surviving as a slight earthwork and both evident as cropmarks in aerial photography.
Reasons for Designation
The long barrow and round barrow, 540m north-west of Goody Orchin Plantation, are scheduled for the following principal reasons:
* Survival: as a prehistoric long barrow and round barrow, both of which are confirmed to survive from geophysical survey and visible as a clearly defined crop mark;
* Potential: for the buried archaeological deposits which retain considerable potential to provide evidence relating to social organisation and demographics, cultural associations, human development, disease, diet, and death rituals. Buried environmental evidence can also provide information about the landscape in which the barrows were constructed;
* Diversity: as a site which combines both a Neolithic and Bronze Age barrow type;
* Period: as one of very few monument types dating to the early prehistoric, both barrows are highly representative of their respective periods. The significance of the monument is enhanced by the spatial relationship with the Bronze Age round barrow adding chronological depth to the site;
* Rarity: long barrows are rare nationally and both barrows are one of very few monument types to offer us insights into the lives and deaths of early prehistoric communities in this country;
* Group value: for its close proximity to other contemporary or spatially related scheduled monuments, especially the scheduled Neolithic long barrow 720m east of Otby House, which is roughly 280m distant from the long barrow and round barrow north-west of Goody Orchin Plantation.
History
Long barrows and chambered tombs are the main forms of Neolithic funerary monument, constructed from before 3800 BC with new monuments continuing to be built throughout the 4th millennium BC. Where they are precisely dated it appears their primary use for burial rarely lasted longer than about 100 years. Generally comprising long, linear earthen mounds or stone cairns, often flanked by ditches, they can appear as distinctive features in the landscape. They measure up to about 100m in length, 35m in width and 4m in height, and are sometimes trapezoidal or oval in plan. Earthen long barrows are found mostly in southern and eastern England and are usually unchambered, although some examples have been found to contain timber mortuary structures. Regional variation in construction is generally a reflection of locally available resources. Megalithic or stone chambered tombs are most common in Scotland and Wales but are also found in those parts of England with ready access to the large stones and boulders from which they are constructed, especially the Cotswolds, the South-West and Kent. There are around 540 long barrows recorded nationally.
Long barrows of the Lincolnshire Wolds have been identified as a distinct regional grouping of monuments in which the flanking ditches are continued around the ends of the barrow mound, either continuously or broken by a single causeway towards one end. A small number survive as earthworks but the majority are known from crop marks and soil marks where no or very low mounds are evident on the surface. Not all Lincolnshire long barrows had mounds and our current understanding of Neolithic mortuary practices in this part of the country is that the large barrow mound was in fact the final phase of construction which was not reached by all monuments. Previously many of the sites where only the ditched enclosure is known have been interpreted as a barrow where the mound has been degraded or removed by subsequent agricultural activity. In some cases the ditched enclosure (mortuary enclosure) represents a monument which never developed a mound.
Round barrows are funerary monuments dating from the Late Neolithic period to the Late Bronze Age, with most examples belonging to the period 2400-1500 BC. They were constructed as earthen or rubble mounds, sometimes ditched, which covered single or multiple burials. Often occupying prominent locations, they are a major historic element in the modern landscape and their considerable variation of form and longevity as a monument type provide important information on the diversity of beliefs and social organisations amongst early prehistoric communities. They are particularly representative of their period and a substantial proportion of surviving examples are considered worthy of protection.
The long barrow and round barrow 540m north-west of Goody Orchin Plantation was first identified as cropmark and soilmarks in 2018 through aerial photography (AP) as part of the Lincolnshire Long Barrow Project. A geophysical survey was undertaken and has confirmed the survival of both barrows. The presence of the round barrow is indicated by the 1975 Ordnance Survey map which is marked ‘tumulus’ however it is not present on earlier editions.
Details
PRINCIPAL ELEMENTS
The monument includes the buried remains of a Neolithic long barrow and a Bronze Age round barrow some 540m north-west from Goody Orchin Plantation. The barrows are approximately 1.8km north-east of Walesby and lie 230m to the west of the junction of Walesby Hill with B1225 High Street. The barrows are located near the crest of a hill which overlooks springs that feed Kingerby Beck to the west, and, to the east, a series of springs around Stainton le Vale. The barrows sit at 161m AOD.
DESCRIPTION
The barrows are visible as crop marks and soil marks on aerial photographs (APs) and as a shallow earthwork on digital elevation models (DEM) which record the survival of a slight earthwork, largely but not entirely positioned within the cropmarks of the ditch.
The long barrow is aligned north-west by south-east and is defined by a ditched rectilinear enclosure measuring 72m in length by 22m across towards the south, narrowing down to 18m at the northern end. The mound has been spread beyond the ditches as mapped and measures 71m in length and 43m in width. The AP evidence clearly shows only three sides of the ditch, however geophysical survey data reveals that the enclosing ditch measures 3.5m wide and forms a near complete circuit. An offset is visible at the southernmost corner of the ditch possibly indicating the position of an entrance.
To the north-west of the long barrow, aligned with its long axis, is a Bronze Age round barrow. It seems likely that the round barrow was purposely positioned on this alignment at a time when the long barrow was still visible. Aerial photographs indicate a single ditch with an external diameter of 32m. The ditch has a width of around 3.2m. The mound is also apparent on digital terrain models, with an extent of approximately 40m diameter. There is a slight rise in the ground indicating the mound of both the long barrow and the round barrow with no discernible break between them.
Valuable archaeological deposits will be preserved on the buried ground surface and in the fills of the ditches. These will provide rare information concerning the dating and construction of the monument and the sequence of mortuary practices at the site. The same deposits may also retain environmental evidence illustrating the nature of the contemporary landscape in which the monument was set.
EXTENT OF SCHEDULING
The scheduled area includes the long barrow, round barrow, the spread mound and a 5m buffer zone around these features, which is considered necessary for the support and preservation of the monument.
