Lodge Park Long Barrow View all content for Lodge Park

Details of long barrow on Pastscape SP 14271253 Long Barrow (NR). A Long barrow measuring 150 ft by 75 ft by 8 1/2 high, aligned SE/NW. Two uprights and a capstone of either the entrance to a chamber or a false entrance protrude from the SE end. The barrow, which has never been excavated, was described by Crawford as the finest he had every seen. A long barrow oriented SE-NW and measuring 48.0m long by 26.0m wide. It is 1.9m high at its highest point in the SE. There are no traces of side ditches. The entrance, or false entrance, consists of two upright stone slabs 1.5m apart measuring 0.7m long, 0.4m high and 0.3m thick. The displaced capstone leans on them and is 2.1m long, 0.9m wide and 0.3m thick. The barrow, set in permanent parkland, is well preserved. Re-surveyed at 1:2500 on antiquity model. See GP AO/WM1/76/7/8 from NE. SP 14271254 The long barrow was surveyed at scales of 1:2500 and 1:500 as part of a wider survey of Lodge Park by English Heritage in 2005. It is a well-preserved example of the Cotswold-Severn type, dating to the first part of the 4th millenium BC and it conforms to the average length and orientation of others in this group. It is typically situated on the uppper limestone plateau, on a false crest. The mound measures 2.6m high at its largest end and decreases to 1.9m high at its tail end. It has two distinct steps in its profile and combined with the 'waisted' nature of its plan these may suggest a multi-phased construction as has been found at nearby sites such as Notgrove and Sales Lot. The three stones forming the stone setting at the south-eastern end of the mound may have been exposed due to a collapse. They may represent an entrance or a blind entrance, although the possibility that they may have been re-arranged during the later landscaping of the park cannot be ruled out. A geophysical survey of the mound, in 1995, showed it to be composed of dense rubble with an axial wall along its centre and 'weakly visible' transverse walls were believed to show cellular construction, although no chambers could be located with certainty. No flanking ditches are visible, but the geophysical survey noted side ditches present on both sides (8) (9) (10). The probable Neolithic long barrow identified by the previous authorities is visible as an extant earthwork on aerial photographs of 2006. Centred at SP 1427 1255, this feature appears from the air to be approximately 43m long, by 13-20m wide. This feature was mapped from aerial photographs as part of the South Cotswolds NMP project (11-12).

Posted by Chance 9th June 2014ce

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