Milston Down Long Barrows

Nearest town:
Amesbury (8km SW)
OS reference:
SU216462
OS sheet:
184
Latitude:
51° 12' 50.51 N
Longitude:
1° 41' 26.59 W
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Milston Down Long Barrows

Chance
Chance Aug 7, 2012

Visited Early Aug 2011

A pair of Long Barrows lie just off the Tidworth to Bulford road and are very close to the Devil’s Ditch which forms the county line between Wiltshire and Hampshire. A major track runs next to the barrows and the surrounding area is used as an assembly point for the army. There is an area set aside for parking and the site seems to be a favourite for local dog walkers. Public access is not a problem, although the area to the West is part of the MOD ranges and access is prohibited when the red flags are flying. There are a number of round barrows close by, together with numerous earthworks, some prehistoric while others date from the First World War. Some of these First World War trenches were practice trenches dug by WWI solders prior to digging the real thing in France. The better examples are now listed as protected monuments in their own right.

Not sure if this site is unique in having two long barrows side by side but it is the only one I can remember visiting.

Having visited and read up on a lot of long barrows, in my opinion, the southern one of the pair, SU24NW102 (scheduled Monument WI10193), which is the larger of the two, is the original and dates from the early Neolithic, while the smaller, northern one SU24NW101 (scheduled monument WI10194), appears to be from the later Neolithic. Neither barrow shows signs of excavation or examination and there is certainly no account of any such actions on the Wiltshire Sites and Monuments database.
Both barrows are orientated east-west with SU24NW102 having more pronounced side ditches and the remains of a berm. The other barrow, SU24NW101, shows traces of the side ditches created when it was constructed, although these have silted up over time. Both barrows have been protected by posts all the way around and the sites are clearly marked as protected monuments `

Miscellaneous

Milston Down Long Barrows
Long Barrow
Chance
Chance Aug 7, 2012

Milston Long Barrow (Small)

Details of Long Barrow on Pastscape

Monument No. 223840 – Milston 40

A long barrow orientated east-west, side ditches ploughed out, (Grinsell’s Milston 40).

‘A’ (SU 21694631) (1)
‘A’ Grinsell’s Milston 40. A long barrow orientated E – W with ploughed down side ditches. Length 88ft width 50ft, height 4ft. (2)
‘A’ SU21694633. Resurveyed at 1:2500. (3)
Originally recorded as Milston 40 by Goddard (4), with an additional description by Cunnington. (5)
This long barrow is positioned 40m N of Milston 39. The mound is 28m long, 14m wide and 1.25m high. It is more rectangular than oval in outline, with a slightly higher central portion 14m x 7m in area. Two flanking side ditches are extant, each 22m in length. Surveyed at 1:500 by RCHME field staff as part of the SPTA Project (see project archive for further details). (6)

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SOURCE TEXT
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( 1) Ordnance Survey Map (Scale / Date) OS 6” Prov 1961
( 2) General reference VCH Wilts I, 1957, 142 (L.V Grinsell)
( 3) Field Investigators Comments F1 MJF 01-MAR-71
( 4) General reference Wilts Archaeol. Natur. Mag. 38, 1913-14. 291 (E.H Goddard)
( 5) General reference Wilts Archaeol. Natur. Mag. 38, 1913-14. 395 (M.E Cunnington)
( 6) General reference D Field/2-2-95/RCHME;SPTA Project

Miscellaneous

Milston Down Long Barrows
Long Barrow
Chance
Chance Aug 7, 2012

Milston Long Barrow (Big)

Monument No. 909108 – Milston 39

Details of Long Barrow on Pastscape

A long barrow orientated east-west with berm and side ditches

SU 21704624; A long barrow (1)
Milston 39: A long barrow orientated east-west with a berm and side ditches. Length 160ft, width 70ft, height 7ft. Visible on APs (2-3)
SU 21714625; long barrow re-surveyed at 1:2500. (4)
Originally recorded as Milston 39 by Goddard (5), additional description by Cunnington. (6)
Oriented ENE-WSW, this mound is 48m long and a maximum of 18m wide, inclusive of a berm or raised platform on which the mound appears to have been placed. The maximum height is 2.5m reducing to to 1m. Two flanking, slightly curving side ditches are present. Surveyed at 1:500 by RCHME field staff as part of the SPTA Project (see project archive for further details).(7)

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SOURCE TEXT
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(1) Ordnance Survey Map (Scale / Date) OS 6” Prov. 1961
(2) General reference VCH Wilts 1 1957, 142 (L.V Grinsell)
(3) General reference Crawford AP 1080, 965
(4) Field Investigators Comments F1 MJF 01-MAR-1971
(5) General reference Wilts Archaeol. Natur. Mag. 38. 1913-14, 291 (E.H Goddard)
(6) General reference Wilts Archaeol. Natur. Mag. 38, 1913-14, 395 (M.E Cunnington)

Sites within 20km of Milston Down Long Barrows

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