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Summary

One of a group of Neolithic long barrows to the north-west of Claxby St Andrew, known as Deadmen's Graves.

Full description

One of a group of Neolithic long barrows to the north-west of Claxby St Andrew, known as Deadmen's Graves. This barrow is visible as cropmarks, on aerial photography examined as part of the National Mapping Programme. {1}{2}

Neolithic long barrow 525m north-east of Valley House, also known as Deadmen's Graves 3. It is located below the summit of a spur above the source of the Burlands Beck, following the contour of the hill. The barrow is aligned north-north-east to south-south-west, and is thought to have been a notable landscape feature during the first half of the 19th century. Since that time, however, the mound has been reduced by ploughing and is no longer discernible on the ground. Recent aerial surveys have however demonstrated that it survives beneath the present ground surface. This survival is indicated by cropmarks representing a large portion of the buried ditch. The full circuit of this ditch, from which material used in the construction of the mound would have been quarried, is not visible on aerial photographs. Comparison with the other long barrows in the group and with a wider range of similar examples would suggest that the ditch likely measures some 65m long by 30m wide with straight sides and rounded ends. Evidence from more extensive aerial surveys and from excavations at other long barrow sites in Lincolnshire indicate that the ditch is likely to be broken by a causeway to the north. Furthermore, investigations elsewhere in the county indicate that, although the mound has been reduced, this area, together with the fills of the buried ditch, will contain significant mortuary, ritual and constructional remains. {3}{4}{5}

<1> Aerial Photograph, NMR TF4472_3_382 (16/04/1977) (Aerial Photograph). SLI89.

<2> Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England, 1992-1996, Lincolnshire National Mapping Programme, TF4471: LI.112.1.2 (Map). SLI3613.

<3> ENGLISH HERITAGE, 1998, SCHEDULING DOCUMENT 27924, MPP 22 (Scheduling Record). SLI4460.

<4> Dilwyn Jones, 1998, 'Long Barrows and Neolithic Elongated Enclosures in Lincolnshire: An Analysis of the Air Photographic Evidence' in Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society, vol.64, pp.83-114, no.7 (Article in Serial). SLI5407.

<5> Dilwyn Jones, 1998, Gazetteer of Neolithic Elongated Enclosures and Extant Long Barrows in (Historic) Lincolnshire, no.9 (Index). SLI2302.

Monument Types

• LONG BARROW (Neolithic - 4000 BC to 2201 BC)

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument

Sources and further reading

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