Collinson also suggested:
“It undoubtedly is one of the noblest sepulchres of the kind in Great Britain; and probably contains the fragments of many brave chieftains, whome some fatal battle near the spot forbad to revisit their natal country.”
As so often, here is the pervasive idea that ‘foreigners’ built the tombs (and only foreigners could have built such tombs).
He also says:
“The field in which this barrow stands has from time immemorial been called the Fairy field; and the common people say that strange noises have been heard underneath the hill, and visions, portentous to children, have been seen waving in the thickets that crown its summit.”
Well, at least the inhabitants sound friendly.