Excavation of a Possible Neolithic Long Barrow or Mortuary Enclosure at Rivenhall, Essex, 1986

The long barrows of Lincolnshire have been the subject of long-term but intermittent interest. One aspect not investigated hitherto is the air photographic evidence for plough-levelled long barrows. Recently completed mapping work in the county by the Aerial Survey section of the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England (RCHME), as part of the National Mapping Programme, has made possible the analysis of the air photographic evidence. This article presents an evaluation of that evidence and considers its significance in terms of the Neolithic of the region.A comprehensive survey of air photo collections has dramatically increased the number of long barrows known in the county, identifying over 50 examples of levelled sites. The majority are found on the chalk Wolds where the dozen surviving earthwork monuments are located. The distribution of long barrows in the county may now be extended onto the Jurassic Limestone ridge to the west where five examples have been recorded. The Lincolnshire long barrow enclosures have three categories of shape; oval, trapeziform, and oblong. The ditch plan is predominantly full-enclosing, and is found as the distinct form in the eastern region of England. The morphology and dimensions of two sites suggests they may have been a long mortuary enclosure or short cursus.At Harlaxton in the southern Limestone a long barrow enclosure forms part of an extensive later Neolithic ritual complex which incorporates a multiple pit-alignment as a principal component. The form of the complex appears to be unique and underlines the importance of Harlaxton as an inter-regional link.

Section: Ditch Formmentioning

confidence: 65%

Section: Ditch Formmentioning

confidence: 65%

Long Barrows and Neolithic Elongated Enclosures in Lincolnshire: An Analysis of the Air Photographic Evidence

Jones¹

1998

“…4). Some 300 m to the north-east is a c. 37 m long by 20 m oval enclosure, which could be interpreted as a small ploughed out Neolithic long barrow or mortuary enclosure (Buckley et al 1988). Unfortunately housing development destroyed this feature before the aerial photographic evidence became available.…”

Section: Description Of the Monumentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One further site which may have particular relevance to the cursus is an oval cropmark immediately east of the eastern cursus terminal (above). This site was unfortunately destroyed before it was recognised, but it is considered to be an oval barrow or possibly long mortuary enclosure and assumed to pre-date the construction of the cursus (Hedges & Buckley 1981;Buckley et al 1988). At the cursus itself a number of features immediately north and east of the area later occupied by the post-circle are considered to pre-date the construction of the cursus and may be of Early Neolithic date.…”

Section: Fig 31mentioning

confidence: 99%

Excavations at a Neolithic Cursus, Springfield, Essex, 1979–85

Buckley

Hedges²,

Brown

et al. 2001

Self Cite

A long cropmark enclosure at Springfield, Essex, interpreted as a Neolithic cursus, was investigated between 1979-85 to confirm its date and establish a site sequence. The enclosure was c. 690 m long and 37-49 m wide, the ditch being uninterrupted in all areas examined, features within the interior at the eastern end included an incomplete ring of substantial post-pits which it is suggested originally formed a complete circle. Peterborough pottery, predominately Mortlake style, Grooved Ware, a small amount of Beaker pottery, earlier Bronze Age urn sherds, and flint artefacts of the late 3rd-early 2nd millennium were recovered from the cursus ditch and other features. Collectively the evidence indicates a prolonged period of use. The results of the excavations are described, the site is discussed in its local and regional context and the implications of the excavation for our understanding of cursus monuments are considered.

“…Might some of their characteristic features be shared by monuments on the river gravels, where long barrows are apparently uncommon? Could the oblong enclosures recognised as crop marks over large areas of lowland Britain actually be the sites of mounds (Loveday & Petchey 1982;Buckley et al 1988), or were they all 'mortuary enclosures' similar to the excavated monument at Normanton Down (Vatcher 1961)?…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Excavation of an Oval Barrow beside the Abingdon Causewayed Enclosure, Oxfordshire

Bradley

Cleal

Cook³

et al. 1992

The excavation of an oval crop mark close to the Abingdon causewayed enclosure showed a complex sequence of development, starting with a rectangular ditched enclosure and most probably ending with an oval barrow of a type with parallels elsewhere in lowland England. The site included the grave of two individuals associated with a polished knife, a belt slider and most probably a leaf shaped arrowhead, and produced a series of radiocarbon dates extending from the Earlier to the Later Neolithic. A number of formal deposits around one end of the site are matched by similar material from the inner ditch of the causewayed enclosure, suggesting a direct link between the two monuments.