Long Barrow 275m west of South Farm

Summary

A Neolithic long barrow visible as a crop mark and a slight earthwork.

Reasons for Designation

The long barrow 275m west of South Farm, Stainton le Vale, is scheduled for the following principal reasons:

* Survival: as the buried remains of a Neolithic long barrow shown on aerial photography as a clearly defined crop mark, and visible as a shallow earthwork;
* 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 inform us about the landscape in which the barrows were constructed;
* Period: as one of very few monument types dating to the early prehistoric, it is highly representative of the period;
* Rarity: as an example of a monument type which is rare nationally and 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 long barrow south-south-west of Stainton Hall (NHLE 1013903) 750m to the west-north-west, and the long barrow south-west of Nimbleton Plantation (NHLE 1013894) 1000m to the south-west. It forms part of the nationally significant group of distinct long barrows in the Lincolnshire Wolds.

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.

The long barrow 275m to the west of South Farm was first identified as a crop mark on aerial photos taken in 1972, and on later aerial photos taken in 1995. It was the subject of field survey in 2018 as part of the Lincolnshire Long Barrows project undertaken by Heritage Lincolnshire.

Details

Principal elements
A Neolithic long barrow aligned north-north-west to south-south-east defined by an elongated oval ditch. The barrow is located on gently sloping land near to the crest of a hill overlooking Stainton le Vale to the north-east and Luds Well springs to the south-east. It is sited at approximately 108m AOD (Above Ordnance Datum).

Description
The long barrow is located 275m west of South Farm at the southern edge of the village of Stainton le Vale. Lying immediately to the south-east corner of Nimbleton Plantation, the barrow sits near to the crest of the hill overlooking Stainton le Vale to the north-east and Luds Well springs to the south-east. The land is gently sloping where the barrow is sited at approximately 108m AOD. The barrow is situated on a spur, towards the head of the valley of the Waithe Beck. It is aligned north-north-west to south-south-east and its long axis runs parallel to the contours. The barrow is an enclosure of oblong form with convex ends, and the side ditches show as a slightly wider mark. It measures 44m in length, 16m wide and is faintly visible as a very shallow spread mound.

Valuable archaeological deposits will be preserved in the slight mound, on the buried ground surface and in the fills of the ditch. 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 will also retain environmental evidence illustrating the nature of the landscape in which the monument was set.

The long barrow is part of a group, with other nearby long barrows, especially the long barrow south-south-west of Stainton Hall (NHLE 1013903) 750m to the west-north-west, and the long barrow south-west of Nimbleton Plantation (NHLE 1013894) 1,000m to the south-west. It forms part of the nationally significant group of distinct long barrows in the Lincolnshire Wolds.

Extent of Scheduling
The scheduled area includes a 5m buffer zone around the barrow, which is considered necessary for the support and preservation of the monument.

Sources

Books and journals
Jones, D, Long Barrows and Neolithic Elongated Enclosures in Lincolnshire: An Analysis of the Air Photographic Evidence. in Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society, Vol. 64, (1998), 83-114
Field, D, Earthen Long Barrows, The Earliest Monuments in the British Isles, (2006)
Jones, D, Gazetteer of Neolithic Elongated Enclosures and Extant Long Barrows in (Historic) Lincolnshire, no 44 (Index) SL12302, (1997)
Woodward, A, British Barrows A Matter of Life and Death, (2000)
Last, J, Beyond the Grave, New Perspectives on Barrows, (2007)

Websites
Lincolnshire Heritage Explorer, accessed 19 January 2024 from https://heritage-explorer.lincolnshire.gov.uk/Monument/MLI52458

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