The Thickthorn Down Long Barrows are two

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...

long barrow Long barrows are a style of monument constructed across Western Europe in the fifth and fourth millennia BCE, during the Early Neolithic period. Typically constructed from earth and either timber or stone, those using the latter material repres ...

s, near the village of

Gussage St Michael Gussage Saint Michael is a small village in East Dorset, in the south of England. At the United Kingdom Census 2001, 2001 census, the village had a population of 219. Gussage St Michael is tucked off the main A354 road, A354 as it runs through th ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...

, England. They are near the south-western end of the

Dorset Cursus The Dorset Cursus is a Neolithic cursus monument that spans across 10 km (6¼ miles) of the chalk downland of Cranborne Chase in east Dorset, United Kingdom. Its extreme length makes it a notable example of this class of linear earthwork; it ...

, a Neolithic feature. The long barrows are a

scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

Description

The long barrows are situated on a ridge on Thickthorn Down. The barrow to the north-west, which is unexcavated, is rectangular, , and high; there is an incomplete ditch around the barrow. It is aligned north-west to south-east, and is immediately south-east of the south-western terminus of the

. It is thought that the bank at the end of the cursus, which is at an oblique angle to its sides but is aligned with the barrow, was designed to link to the existing monument."Monument no. 2100031
''Pastscape''. Retrieved 16 January 2021. The second barrow, a short distance along the ridge to the south-east, is also aligned north-west to south-east. It is rectangular, , and high. There is a ditch around all except the south-east end, where there is a causeway."Monument no. 2100037
''Pastscape''. Retrieved 16 January 2021.

Excavation

The south-eastern barrow was excavated in 1933 by C. D. Drew and

Stuart Piggott Stuart Ernest Piggott, (28 May 1910 – 23 September 1996) was a British archaeologist, best known for his work on prehistoric Wessex. Early life Piggott was born in Petersfield, Hampshire, the son of G. H. O. Piggott, and was educated t ...

, and carefully restored. There were three post-holes on the causeway, one being on the central axis of the mound. There were no primary burials, but in the centre there was a structure consisting of two turf walls with a filling between of chalk rubble. The excavators suggested that the mound had been preceded by this structure, but it has more recently been suggested that the monument was constructed as a series of bays divided by hurdles.Richard Wainwright. ''A Guide to the Prehistoric Remains in Britain. Volume 1: South and East''. Constable, 1979. Page 132. There were three secondary burials in the south-west side, two of them accompanied by beakers. In the ditch, mostly at the ends near the causeway, there were

stratified Stratification may refer to: Mathematics * Stratification (mathematics), any consistent assignment of numbers to predicate symbols * Data stratification in statistics Earth sciences * Stable and unstable stratification * Stratification, or st ...

finds including pottery of the Early Neolithic period and later

Peterborough ware Peterborough ware is a decorated pottery style of the early to middle Neolithic. Named after the region of Middlesex and East Anglia, England where the style was first discovered, it is known for the impressed pits made by bone or wood implement ...

References

{{Long Barrows in Britain Barrows in England Scheduled monuments in Dorset Archaeological sites in Dorset