Details

The monument includes a long barrow lying in a prominent position immediately
south west of the highest point of White Sheet Hill. The barrow includes a
mound 42m long and a maximum of 23m wide, aligned WSW-ENE. The mound is 2m
high at its uphill (easterly) end, rising to over 2.5m high at the
downslope end. The mound has a central disturbance c.5m in diameter and 0.7m
deep, from which excavated material has been tipped down its southern flank.
Although this disturbance may be the result of an antiquarian excavation there
are no records of the barrow having been investigated. The mound is flanked by
clearly defined ditches, a maximum of 6m wide and 1m deep from which material
for its construction was quarried.
All fence posts are excluded from the scheduling although the ground beneath
these features is included.

MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.
It includes a 2 metre boundary around the archaeological features,
considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.

Source: Historic England

Reasons for Scheduling

Long barrows were constructed as earthen or drystone mounds with flanking
ditches and acted as funerary monuments during the Early and Middle Neolithic
periods (3400-2400 BC). They represent the burial places of Britain's early
farming communities and, as such, are amongst the oldest field monuments
surviving visibly in the present landscape. Where investigated, long barrows
appear to have been used for communal burial, often with only parts of the
human remains having been selected for interment. Certain sites provide
evidence for several phases of funerary monument preceding the barrow and,
consequently, it is probable that long barrows acted as important ritual sites
for local communities over a considerable period of time. Some 500 examples of
long barrows and long cairns, their counterparts in the uplands, are recorded
nationally. As one of the few types of Neolithic structure to survive as
earthworks, and due to their comparative rarity, their considerable age and
their longevity as a monument type, all long barrows are considered to be
nationally important.

The long barrow 170m south west of the triangulation pillar on White Sheet
Hill is a well preserved example of its class situated in a prominent position
immediately adjacent to a public right of way. Despite some minor disturbance
the barrow exhibits a largely original profile with pronounced quarry ditches
flanking the impressive mound. In addition the barrow will include
archaeological remains containing information about Neolithic burial
traditions, economy and environment.

Source: Historic England