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Summary

GIANTS HILLS I, LONG BARROW 575M NORTHWEST OF LODGE FARM

Full description

PRN 43621
Neolithic long barrow, excavated by C. W. Phillips in 1933-34. Pottery and other objects found in the surrounding ditch indicate Bronze Age and early Iron Age settlement of this area as well. {1}{2}{3}
For a detailed description see the excavation report in Archaeologia, vol.85 (1936). {2}
The barrow was the subject of pioneering archaeological investigations in 1933, making a major contribution to our basic understanding of English long barrows, in particular the characterisation of the long barrows of the Lincolnshire Wolds as a distinctive regional group. The work demonstrated that, while the mortuary practices of the barrow builders bore a similarity to those previously investigated on the Yorkshire Wolds, Giants Hill did not have the long, flanking ditches which were considered to be typical of the monument type. Instead, the ditch was shown to enclose the mound completely except for a causeway to the north-west, a feature which is now known to be a typical feature of many Lincolnshire long barrows. Radiocarbon dating (one of the earliest examples of this method of dating) applied to the finds in the 1950s indicates that the monument's construction began around 2970BC while Beaker pottery found within the mound demonstrates that the monument continued in use into the later Neolithic period. This very long period of construction and use - c.1000 years - began with an enclosure set aside for mortuary activities. This enclosure, which contained evidence for hurdlework partitions, may have been used for the exposure of human remains, or it may have been the final resting place of remains exposed elsewhere. The skeletons of eight individuals were discovered, together with a quantity of bone fragments. The final phase was the construction of a substantial mound over the enclosure, material for this being quarried from the surrounding ditch. Pottery found in the ditch also demonstrates that the monument continued to be a focus of attention and activity during the Bronze Age and Iron Age. Portions of the mound and the ditch were left unexcavated for further study. The mound was reconstructed to its present appearance. For more detail see scheduling document 27866. {4}
Giants' Hills I is an extant mound with fully-enclosing quarry ditches which produce an oblong form, and is aligned south-east to north-west. {6}

<1> OS CARD INDEX, TF 47 SW 9,1964, KF (Index). SLI2723.

<2> PHILLIPS, C.W., 1936, 'The excavation of the Giants' Hills long barrow, Skendleby Lincolnshire' in Archaeologia, VOL85, PP37-106 (Article in Serial). SLI276.

<3> HBMC, AM 7, - (Scheduling Record). SLI4067.

<4> ENGLISH HERITAGE, 1997, REVISED SCHEDULING DOCUMENT 27866, MPP 24 (Scheduling Record). SLI4308.

<5> 1946-98, RCHME, 2401/25-27,1986, (Aerial Photograph). SLI193.

<6> Dilwyn Jones, 1998, Gazetteer of Neolithic Elongated Enclosures and Extant Long Barrows in (Historic) Lincolnshire, NO 2 (Index). SLI2302.

Monument Types

• LONG BARROW (Early Neolithic to Late Neolithic - 4000 BC to 2351 BC)

Associated Finds

• HUMAN REMAINS (Early Neolithic to Late Neolithic - 4000 BC to 2351 BC)
• ANIMAL REMAINS (Middle Neolithic to Late Bronze Age - 3000 BC to 801 BC)
• SHERD (Middle Neolithic to Early Bronze Age - 3000 BC to 1501 BC)

Associated Events

• Giants' Hills I long barrow, 1933-34

Protected Status

• SHINE
• Scheduled Monument

Sources and further reading

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