More information : (SY 61408968) Burial Chamber (NR)(rems of) (NAT). (1)
SY 61418970. An almost destroyed long barrow, possibly oriented
east to west with two large stones at the east end the remains
of a mound. (2)
Stones, possibly remains of chambered long barrow (SY 61408968)
marked `cromlech` on some maps lie 400 ft above OD on a steep
south east facing slope, now in pasture. One large sarsen, an
iregular oblong 8 ft by 4 3/4 ft and 1 1/4 ft above ground ,
lies in the shoulder of a rounded scarp some 2 ft high. A
second sarsen, 4 ft across and 1 ft 8 ins deep, projects from
the scarp 5 ft to the east. Three small boulders can be seen
between these large stones. Warne listed this site among
`destroyed cromlechs` describing `one large stone apparently
the capstone with two or three others.... in a confused heap`.The
stones may not be in situ since the area was once part of
the arable fields of Winterbourne Steepleton and the scarp is
in part a lynchet ploughed down since enclosure.(3)
SY 61408967. The two large stones noted by RCHM (3) are all
that remain; they measure 2.7m by 1.5m. by 0.7m. and 1.4m. by
by 0.6m. The scarp has been ploughed continuously and is now
barely discernible.
Published Survey (1:2500) Correct (4)
The site lies at SY 6140 8967, on the edge of a dry valley which runs into the valley of the South Winterbourne, northeast of Coombe Farm. The remains comprise a slight, much ploughed, ovoid mound, orientated NE-SW, 17m long and 13m wide. Two large, recumbent sarsens lie on the south edge of the mound, as described by authy 4. The field has evidently been ploughed for many years: it once formed part of the open fields of Winterbourne Steepleton and it was arable land in the mid-19th century (Winterbourne Steepleton tithe map and award, 1841) (5).
The site was surveyed using differential GPS at a scale of 1: 200 as part of a survey of the long barrows on the South Dorset Ridgeway carried out by English Heritage and the Ridgeway Survey Group (6).
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