Summary : Site of a Neolithic chambered long barrow, excavated in 1955 by Professor Atkinson prior to the mound being bulldozed. No final report has been published. In the early 19th century, Colt Hoare referred to the mound being "set round with stone". Mrs Cunnington noted partly buried stones in 1913, while traces of an orthostatic revetment were still visible circa 1950. The remains of a burial chamber were inferred at the eastern end prior to excavation. Barker recently suggested that the Ordnance Survey siting of the barrow to SU 15137140 is incorrect. He noted possible remains of the barrow at SU 14787135. However, mapping from air photographs by RCHME suggests that the Ordnance Survey grid reference is correct, and that Barker observed sarsens removed by the bulldozer. |
More information : (SU 1515 7140) Burial Chamber (NR) SU 1513 7140 Manton Down Long Barrow. Length 65'; width 35'; height 3 1/2'. No 11 on Wessex map. (2) The remains of the burial chamber were at the E end and could not have been more than 6' square internally (3) (4). Traces of an orthostatic revetment are still visible (4) and one outlying stone at SE corner of the could be remains of the peristalith. (3). Hoare (5) refers to the mound being "set round with stone" and Mrs Cunnington (6) noted three or four stones being partly buried c 1913. Has been levelled by a bulldozer. A rescue excavation was carried out by R J C Atkinson in 1955. Publication forthcoming. There are no surface indications of this long barrow in the arable field. 5 large sarsen slabs and numerous smaller sarsens lie in a patch of scrub centred SU 1513 7141 immediately adjacent to the barrow site; it is probable that some formed the burial chamber (see illustration card) Sited on 1:2500 Description of the site and history of antiquarian and archaeological investigation, including a summary of Atkinson's excavation. Barker also states that the remains "are shown on all OS maps at SU 15137140,while they actually stand some 350m to the west at SU 14787135". (10)
The site of the long barrow is located within the area mapped at 1:10,000 from APs by the Fyfield Down and Overton Down Mapping Project. In the light of Barker's comments, an attempt was made to determine the barrow's true location. Information received from Prof PJ Fowler suggested that Barker's assertion was based, in part, on a site visit during which he apparently found a pile of stones in a hedge at his preferred location. Two slight mounds were recorded from APs in the vicinity of Barker's revised location, but are probably abraded field system lynchets. At the location originally given on OS maps (SU 15137140) most APs from 1946-1982 show a clump of rough vegetation covering an area of disturbed ground and obscuring surface detail, although CUCAP photographs taken in 1954 show an area of bulldozer damage at this spot. It seems likely that the stones noted by Barker had been moved by bulldozer from their original location, and that the grid reference indicated on OS maps is correct. (11-13) |