Stoney Littleton Long Barrow
Scheduled Monument Record
Description of the Monument
The monument includes a chambered long barrow situated on a
limestone outcrop overlooking the valley of the Wellow Brook to the
north and west.
Known variously as the Stoney Littleton long barrow and the Bath
Tumulus, the barrow has a long mound which is orientated from north
west to south east, is of trapezoidal plan and has maximum
dimensions of 30m long, 12.5m wide and c.2m high. The mound is
composed of small stones and has a restored dry stone wall running
around its perimeter.
The south eastern end of the mound is twice the width of the
north western terminal, and the wider end is also associated with a
recessed forecourt which leads into an inner chamber. The forecourt
has dimensions of 3m by 3.2m and its boundaries are flanked by dry
stone walling which extends to the entrance of the inner chamber.
The entrance appears as a lintel supported by two jambs; it is 1.lm
high and faces towards the south east.
The internal chamber includes a transepted gallery grave
associated with three pairs of side chambers and an end chamber.
The gallery extends for 12.8m and varies in height from l.2m to
1.8m. Human bones were recovered from within the chambers during
excavations conducted by Skinner in 1816.
The barrow’s mound is flanked on each side by a quarry ditch
from which material was taken during the construction of the
monument. These have become infilled over the years, but survive as
buried features c.3m wide.
The monument has been in State care since 1884.
Excluded from the scheduling are the iron railings and entrance
gate surrounding the periphery of the mound, together with the
public notice board situated to the west of the mound but the
underlying ground is included.
Assessment of Importance
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 long barrows are recorded in England. 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.
Despite partial excavation, the Stoney Littleton long barrow
survives well and will contain archaeological and environmental
information relating to the monument and the landscape in which it
was constructed. This barrow is one of the better known and most
striking examples of a group of long barrows commonly referred to
as the Cotswold Severn group, named after the region in which they
occur.
Map Extract
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract outlined in black . It
includes a 2 metre boundary around the archaeological features,
considered to be essential for the monument’s support and
preservation.
