Summary
The site of a Neolithic long barrow or mortuary enclosure which is visible as cropmarks and soilmarks shown in aerial photography. It is trapezoidal in shape, aligned roughly north-west by south-east.
Reasons for Designation
The Neolithic long barrow or mortuary enclosure 80m south of Dally Acre Bottom is scheduled for the following principal reasons:
* Survival: as a Prehistoric long barrow visible as a clearly defined cropmark;
* Potential: for the buried 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 insight into the lives and deaths of early prehistoric communities in this country:
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.
Details
PRINCIPAL ELEMENTS: a Neolithic long barrow or mortuary enclosure aligned roughly north-west by south-east following the contours of the land. The site is located on a spur of land on the south side of a valley overlooking the River Bain and the plantation of Dally Acre Bottom at 110m AOD.
Sources
Books and journals
Legal
This monument is scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 as amended as it appears to the Secretary of State to be of national importance. This entry is a copy, the original is held by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
End of official list entry
