Saturday 3 September 2011


WINTERBOURNE STOKE BARROWS

This is one of the most impressive barrow cemeteries in Wiltshire. This group of burial mounds includes an early Neolithic long barrow and several Bronze Age round barrows of various shape.
An aerial view of the Winterbourne Stoke barrow cemetery.
An aerial view of the Winterbourne Stoke barrow cemetery.
© English Heritage NMR, NMR 18663/18, SU1041/104 9 Jan 2000

THE EARLY NEOLITHIC LONG BARROW

The earliest burial mound in the group is the long barrow, which even today is 84 metres long and some 3 metres high, with clearly visible side ditches. It would have been built between 3750 and 3400BC, making it earlier than the ditch and bank at Stonehenge.
A view of the long barrow under light snow.
A view of the long barrow under light snow.
© English Heritage NMR, James O Davies DP136363
The barrow was excavated in 1863 by John Thurnam, who found a male burial at the north-east end. Three further burials, a male adult and two children, were found higher up in the mound. These were probably secondary burials, dating to the Early Bronze Age, inserted into the mound over one thousand years later.

BRONZE AGE BURIAL MOUNDS

This cemetery includes all the main types of round barrow found in Wessex. The first barrows were built around 2000BC. Two lines of round barrows run in a north-easterly direction from the long barrow. This remarkable group includes pairs of bell, pond and disc barrows as well as 19 bowl barrows. A further cluster of barrows, slightly to the north of the main group, is made up of 5 bowl barrows and a pair of saucer barrows.
This detailed aerial photograph shows three clear disc barrows in the foreground with bowl and bell barrows beyond.
This detailed aerial photograph shows three clear disc barrows in the foreground with bowl and bell barrows beyond.
© English Heritage NMR, NMR 24078/27, SU1041/133 24 Sep 2005

GRAVE GOODS

Objects were frequently placed with the remains. These grave goods often included bronze daggers and battle-axes, beads and other ornaments. We believe that they indicate the status of the dead, although it is not clear whether the different types of grave goods indicate gender, age or role - some with special types of equipment may have been shaman's graves.
Most prehistoric barrows in the Stonehenge landscape were excavated in the 19th century. Many of the objects found can be seen in the Wiltshire Heritage Museum, Devizes and Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum, Salisbury.
This aerial view shows the largely linear nature of the barrow cemetery.
This aerial view shows the largely linear nature of the barrow cemetery.
© Crown copyright NMR, NMR 15077/13, SU1041/71 18 Oct 1993