Stoney Littleton Long Barrow

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The Stoney Littleton Long Barrow (also known as the Bath Tumulus and the Wellow Tumulus) is a Neolithic chambered tomb with multiple burial chambers, located near the village of Wellow in the English county of Somerset. It is an example of the Cotswold-Severn Group and was scheduled as an ancient monument in 1882. It was one of the initial monuments included when the Ancient Monuments Protection Act 1882 became law.[1]

The chambered long barrow was built around 3500 BC. Excavations in the early 19th century uncovered bones from several individuals. The stone structure is about Script error: No such module "convert". in length and contains a Script error: No such module "convert". long gallery with three pairs of side chambers and an end chamber.

Location and access

The barrow is approximately Script error: No such module "convert". south west of the village of Wellow. It is on a limestone ridge overlooking Wellow Brook approximately Script error: No such module "convert". to the north and west of the barrow.[2] It is surrounded by a rectangular grass area accessed via a stile and footpath from a car park at Stoney Littleton Farm.[3]

History

Chambered long barrows were constructed during the Neolithic between 4000 and 2500 BC for the ritual inhumation of the dead.[4] Stoney Littleton Long Barrow was probably constructed around 3500 BC.[5]

The tomb was first opened around 1760 by a local farmer to obtain stone for road building.[5][6] The site was excavated by John Skinner and Richard Hoare in 1816–17, along with a labourer Zebedee Weston,[7] who gained the entry through the hole which was made previously.[4] The excavation revealed the bones (some burned) of several individuals.[5] The mound was restored in 1858 by Thomas Joliffe.[2] Some of the artefacts from the excavations are in the Bristol Museum & Art Gallery.[3]

It was scheduled as an ancient monument in 1882.[8] Since 1884, the Stoney Littleton Long Barrow has been in state care,[8] and is now managed by English Heritage who have provided an information board at the site.[5] Further conservation work and a geophysical survey were carried out in 1999 and 2000 by the Cotswold Archaeological Trust.[2]

Description

Severn-Cotswold tombs consist of precisely-built, long trapezoid earth mounds covering a burial chamber.[9] The Stoney Littleton Long Barrow stands on a limestone ridge overlooking Wellow Brook and the village of Wellow.[10] It is constructed from stone, including Blue Lias and Forest Marble quarried within an Script error: No such module "convert". radius.[2][3][5]

It is around Script error: No such module "convert". in length and Script error: No such module "convert". wide at the south-east end, it stands nearly Script error: No such module "convert". high.[8] Internally it consists of a Script error: No such module "convert". long gallery with three pairs of side chambers and an end chamber.[4] The passage and entrance are roughly aligned towards the midwinter sunrise.[11] The roof is made of overlapping stones.[12] There is a fossil ammonite impression decorating the left-hand doorjamb.[13][14]

Unusually, the barrow is not situated on flat ground and "looks as though it is sliding down the side of a hill."[3]

Gallery

References

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  1. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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  3. ↑ a b c d Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  4. ↑ a b c Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  5. ↑ a b c d e Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  6. ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
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  8. ↑ a b c Template:NHLE
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  10. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  11. ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  12. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  13. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  14. ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".

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External links

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Template:Long Barrows in Britain

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