Long barrow 330m south-east of Langton Grange Farm, Spellow Hills

Summary

A Neolithic long barrow aligned roughly north-east to south-west, visible as a crop mark.

Reasons for Designation

The long barrow 330m south-east of Langton Grange Farm is scheduled for the following principal reasons:

* Survival: as a clearly defined crop mark, confirmed by geophysical survey, representing the burial practices, beliefs and social organisation amongst early prehistoric communities;
* Potential: for the buried deposits which retain considerable potential to provide evidence relating to social organisation and demographics, cultural associations, human development, disease, diet, and death rituals. Buried environmental evidence can also inform us about the landscape in which barrows were constructed;
* Period: as one of very few monument types dating to the early prehistoric, it is highly representative of the Neolithic period;
* Rarity: as an example of a monument type which is rare nationally and one of very few monument types to offer us insights into the lives and deaths of early prehistoric communities in this country;
* Group value: as part of a close group of four long barrows in this immediate area including the Spellow Hills Long Barrow (NHLE 1013919), scheduled in 1934, the barrow 650m south of Langton Grange Cottage (NHLE 1013910) scheduled in 1996, and the barrow 465m north-west of Dexthorpe, (NHLE 1015770) scheduled in 1997. The barrow also forms part of a nationally significant regional group of Neolithic long barrows in the Lincolnshire wolds.

History

Long barrows and chambered tombs are the main forms of Neolithic funerary monument, constructed from before 3800 BC with new monuments continuing to be built throughout the 4th millennium BC. Where they are precisely dated it appears their primary use for burial rarely lasted longer than about 100 years. Generally comprising long, linear earthen mounds or stone cairns, often flanked by ditches, they can appear as distinctive features in the landscape. They measure up to about 100m in length, 35m in width and 4m in height, and are sometimes trapezoidal or oval in plan. Earthen long barrows are found mostly in southern and eastern England and are usually unchambered, although some examples have been found to contain timber mortuary structures. Regional variation in construction is generally a reflection of locally available resources. Megalithic or stone chambered tombs are most common in Scotland and Wales but are also found in those parts of England with ready access to the large stones and boulders from which they are constructed, especially the Cotswolds, the South-West and Kent. There are around 540 long barrows recorded nationally.

Long barrows of the Lincolnshire Wolds have been identified as a distinct regional grouping of monuments in which the flanking ditches are continued around the ends of the barrow mound, either continuously or broken by a single causeway towards one end. A small number survive as earthworks but the majority are known from crop marks and soil marks where no or very low mounds are evident on the surface. Not all Lincolnshire long barrows had mounds and our current understanding of Neolithic mortuary practices in this part of the country is that the large barrow mound was in fact the final phase of construction which was not reached by all monuments. Previously many of the sites where only the ditched enclosure is known have been interpreted as a barrow where the mound has been degraded or removed by subsequent agricultural activity. In some cases the ditched enclosure (mortuary enclosure) represents a monument which never developed a mound.

The long barrow 330m south-east of Langton Grange Farm, which survives as a crop mark, was first recorded by reconnaissance in 1995.

Details

PRINCIPAL ELEMENTS: a Neolithic long barrow aligned roughly north-east to south-west, visible as a crop mark.

DESCRIPTION: the cropmark of the enclosing ditch is visible, centred at TF 40163 72382. The barrow measures 67m in length and 19m across at the north-eastern end (which is rounded), tapering slightly to the south-western end where it measures 12m across. No trace of the mound can be seen. The northern end of the enclosure is rounded whilst the south end is squared.

The long barrow is located to the west of the A16 Alford-Spilsby Road, about 330m south east of Langton Grange Farm at the head of a valley of one of the tributaries of the River Lymn. The barrow lies on fairly level ground at approximately 95m OD and crosses a field boundary marked by a hedge. The ground slopes gently to the south with a very gradual rise to the north.

Valuable archaeological deposits will be preserved on the buried ground surface and in the fills of the ditch. These will provide rare information concerning the dating and construction of the monument and the sequence of mortuary practices at the site. The same deposits will also retain environmental evidence illustrating the nature of the landscape in which the monument was set.

The long barrow is one of a number of similar monuments which are associated with a tributary of the River Lymn. These locational associations pose wider questions concerning the ritual nature of the area and have significant implications for the study of communication, settlement patterns and demography during the Neolithic. The barrow is associated with three other barrows in the near vicinity: the Spellow Hills Long Barrow (NHLE 1013919), scheduled in 1934, the barrow 650m south of Langton Grange Cottage (NHLE 1013910) scheduled in 1996, and the barrow 465m north-west of Dexthorpe (NHLE 1015770) scheduled in 1997.

EXTENT OF SCHEDULING: The mapped depiction of the barrow includes a 5m buffer zone around the barrow which is considered necessary for the support and preservation of the monument.

Sources

Books and journals
Last, J, Beyond the Grave, New Perspectives on Barrows (2007),
Woodward, A, British Barrows A Matter of Life and Death (2000),
D, Field, Earthen Long Barrows, The Earliest Monuments in the British Isles (2006),
Long Barrows and Neolithic Elongated Enclosures in Lincolnshire: An Analysis of the Air Photographic Evidence in Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society, ,Vol. 64, (1998), 83-114

Websites
Lincolnshire Heritage Explorer, accessed 3 March 2025 from https://heritage-explorer.lincolnshire.gov.uk/Monument/MLI43187

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