The Stoney Littleton Long Barrow (also known as the Bath Tumulus and the Wellow Tumulus) is a

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 p ...

chambered

tomb A tomb ( grc-gre, τύμβος ''tumbos'') is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes. Placing a corpse into a tomb can be called ''immureme ...

with multiple burial chambers, located near the village of Wellow in the English county of

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

. It is an example of the Cotswold-Severn Group and was scheduled as an

ancient monument In British law, an ancient monument is an early historical structure or monument (e.g. an archaeological site) worthy of preservation and study due to archaeological or heritage interest. The ''Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 ...

in 1882. It was one of the initial monuments included when the

Ancient Monuments Protection Act 1882 The Ancient Monuments Protection Act 1882 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (as it then was). It was introduced by John Lubbock, 1st Baron Avebury, recognising the need for a governmental administrat ...

became law. The

chambered 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 ...

was built around 3500 BC. Excavations in the early 19th century uncovered bones from several individuals. The stone structure is about in length and contains a long gallery with three pairs of side chambers and an end chamber.

Location and access

The barrow is approximately south west of the village of Wellow. It is on a

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

ridge overlooking Wellow Brook approximately to the north and west of the barrow. It is surrounded by a rectangular grass area accessed via a stile and footpath from a car park at Stoney Littleton Farm.

History

Chambered 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 were constructed during the

between 4000 and 2500 BC for the

ritual A ritual is a sequence of activities involving gestures, words, actions, or objects, performed according to a set sequence. Rituals may be prescribed by the traditions of a community, including a religious community. Rituals are characterized ...

inhumation Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

of the dead. Stoney Littleton Long Barrow was probably constructed around 3500 BC. The tomb was first opened around 1760 by a local farmer to obtain stone for road building. The site was excavated by John Skinner and Richard Hoare in 1816-17, along with a labourer Zebedee Weston, who gained the entry through the hole which was made previously. The excavation revealed the bones (some burned) of several individuals. The mound was restored in 1858 by Thomas Joliffe. Some of the artefacts from the excavations are in the

Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery Bristol Museum & Art Gallery is a large museum and art gallery in Bristol, England. The museum is situated in Clifton, about from the city centre. As part of Bristol Culture it is run by the Bristol City Council with no entrance fee. It holds ...

. It was scheduled as an

in 1882. Since 1884 the Stoney Littleton Long Barrow has been in state care, and is now managed by

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

who have provided an information board at the site. Further conservation work and a

geophysical survey Geophysical survey is the systematic collection of geophysical data for spatial studies. Detection and analysis of the geophysical signals forms the core of Geophysical signal processing. The magnetic and gravitational fields emanating from the E ...

were carried out in 1999 and 2000 by the Cotswold Archaeological Trust.

Description

Severn-Cotswold tomb The Cotswold-Severn Group are a series of long barrows erected in an area of western Britain during the Early Neolithic. Around 200 known examples of long barrows are known from the Cotswold-Severn region, although an unknown number of others wer ...

s consist of precisely-built, long

trapezoid A quadrilateral with at least one pair of parallel sides is called a trapezoid () in American and Canadian English. In British and other forms of English, it is called a trapezium (). A trapezoid is necessarily a convex quadrilateral in Eu ...

earth mounds covering a burial chamber. The Stoney Littleton Long Barrow stands on a

ridge overlooking Wellow Brook and the village of Wellow. It is constructed from stone, including

Blue Lias The Blue Lias is a geological formation in southern, eastern and western England and parts of South Wales, part of the Lias Group. The Blue Lias consists of a sequence of limestone and shale layers, laid down in latest Triassic and early Jurassi ...

and Forest Marble quarried within an radius. It is about in length and wide at the south-east end, it stands nearly high. Internally it consists of a long gallery with three pairs of side chambers and an end chamber. The passage and entrance are roughly aligned towards the midwinter sunrise. The roof is made of overlapping stones. There is a fossil ammonite impression decorating the left-hand doorjamb. Unusually, the barrow is not situated on flat ground and "looks as though it is sliding down the side of a hill."

Gallery

File:Stoneylittletonlongbarrowentrance.JPG, The entrance File:Ammonite at Stoney Littleton Long Barrow.jpg, The impression of an ammonite at the entrance to the barrow File:Chamber of Stoney Littleton Long Barrow.jpg, The chamber File:Curved back end of Stoney Littleton Long Barrow.jpg, Curved back File:Front of Stoney Littleton Long Barrow.jpg, The entrance File:End of Stoney Littleton Long Barrow.jpg, The back end File:Plaque on Stoney Littleton Long Barrow.jpg, Disfigured plaque File:Stoneylittletonlongbarrowinterior.JPG, The interior

References

External links

*
QuickTime Virtual Reality Video
{{Long Barrows in Britain English Heritage sites in Somerset History of Somerset Stone Age sites in England Barrows in the United Kingdom Bath and North East Somerset Scheduled monuments in Bath and North East Somerset Archaeological sites in Somerset 4th-millennium BC architecture