Tag: Long Barrow

by Michael Gill

This article can be accessed / cited here: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17643705 and is available for download as a PDF at the end of this article.

The rolling chalkland of Cranborne Chase has a rich variety of Neolithic monuments, including a dense concentration of long barrows clustering near the Dorset Cursus. This region has long attracted the attention of antiquaries and archaeologists, and as a result is one of the most closely studied prehistoric landscapes in Britain. Consequently, it could be assumed that the most significant Neolithic monuments have already been located and studied. This, however, is far from the truth, with, for example, a number of long barrows and a long enclosure being revealed by aerial imagery and geophysical survey in recent years (Gill 2018, 2023; Gill & Field 2019). One of these long barrows has been shown to be an amazing 112 metres long, and despite being ploughed out, still possesses a spread mound of considerable bulk. The intensification of farming on the downs of Cranborne Chase inevitably led to the destruction of many earthwork monuments, and a careful review of historic maps, LiDAR, and aerial imagery can still lead to new discoveries. This is the case with a probable long barrow at Whitsbury, the mound of which was destroyed in the 19^th Century. Since then, it has been hiding in plain sight, potentially being mis-interpreted and recorded as the site of a round barrow.