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{{short description|Barrow remains in England}}
{{Short description|Barrow remains in England}}
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{{Coord|51.71025|-2.29970|display=inline|region:GB-GLS_type:landmark}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2015}}
[[File:Nympsfield Long Barrow (geograph 1040823).jpg|thumb|200px]]
[[File:Nympsfield Long Barrow (geograph 1040823).jpg|thumb]]

'''Nympsfield Long Barrow''' is the remains of a [[Neolithic]] [[tumulus|burial site]] or barrow, located close to the village of [[Nympsfield]] in [[Gloucestershire]], [[South West England]].<ref name=her>{{cite book|title=English Heritage|author=Lord Montagu of Beaulieu|author-link=Baron Montagu of Beaulieu|page=81|publisher=[[English Heritage]] / Macdonald Queen Anne Press|editor=P. H. Reed|year=1987|location=Hampstead Road, London|isbn=0-356-12773-7}}</ref>
'''Nympsfield Long Barrow''' is the remains of a [[Neolithic]] [[tumulus|burial site]] or barrow, located close to the village of [[Nympsfield]] in [[Gloucestershire]], [[South West England]].<ref name=her>{{cite book|title=English Heritage|author=Lord Montagu of Beaulieu|author-link=Baron Montagu of Beaulieu|page=81|publisher=[[English Heritage]] / Macdonald Queen Anne Press|editor=P. H. Reed|year=1987|location=Hampstead Road, London|isbn=0-356-12773-7}}</ref>


It lies at the edge of a woods, and is now the location of a picnic site.<ref name=her/> It is one of the earliest examples of a barrow with separate chambers.<ref name=tay/> It was constructed around 2800 BCE.<ref>{{citation
It lies at the edge of a woods, and is now the location of a picnic site.<ref name=her/> It is one of the earliest examples of a barrow with separate chambers.<ref name=tay/> It was constructed around 2800 BC.<ref>{{citation
|title=The Cotswold Way: Two-Way National Trail Description
|title=The Cotswold Way: Two-Way National Trail Description
|last=Reynolds
|last=Reynolds
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|isbn=978-1-85284-552-0}}</ref>
|isbn=978-1-85284-552-0}}</ref>


It is a Scheduled Monument (number 22857) in the guardianship of [[English Heritage]].<ref>{{PastScape|mnumber=113212|mname=|accessdate=8 October 2015}}</ref><ref>National Monuments Records: English Heritage</ref>
It is a Scheduled Monument (number 22857) in the guardianship of [[English Heritage]].<ref>{{PastScape|mnumber=113212|mname=|accessdate=8 October 2015}}</ref><ref>National Monuments Records: English Heritage</ref>{{Full citation needed|date=June 2022}}


Many of the finds from excavations at this site are now in the Gloucester City Museum.
Many of the finds from excavations at this site are now in the Gloucester City Museum.
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==Layout==
==Layout==
[[File:Nympsfield Long Barrow (geograph 1901274).jpg|thumb|200px]]
[[File:Nympsfield Long Barrow (geograph 1901274).jpg|thumb]]

The barrow is 27 by 18 metres in size and overall trapezoidal in shape. There is evidence of curving walls behind the east entrance, which leads into a square forecourt area, opening onto a central passage.<ref name=her/> Three chambers lead off this passage, two larger chambers to either side and one small one to the end, divided off by constricting stones to restrict access.<ref name="Darvill"/><ref name="Castleden">{{cite book|last=Castleden|first=R.|title=Neolithic Britain: new stone age sites of England, Scotland, and Wales |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-wYOAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA112|accessdate=1 December 2010|year=1992|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-05845-2|page=112}}</ref> A small part of the north chamber was separated off to form a [[cist]].<ref name="Staelens">{{cite journal|last=Staelens|first=Y. J. E.|year=1982|title=The Birdlip Cemetery|journal=Transactions of the Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society|volume=100|pages=19–31|url=http://www2.glos.ac.uk/bgas/tbgas/v100/bg100019.pdf|accessdate=1 December 2010}}</ref> The long axis of the barrow is orientated in a southeast to northwest direction.<ref name=her/>
The barrow is {{Convert|27|x|18|m|ft}} in size and overall trapezoidal in shape. There is evidence of curving walls behind the east entrance, which leads into a square forecourt area, opening onto a central passage.<ref name=her/> Three chambers lead off this passage, two larger chambers to either side and one small one to the end, divided off by constricting stones to restrict access.<ref name="Darvill"/><ref name="Castleden">{{cite book|last=Castleden|first=R.|title=Neolithic Britain: new stone age sites of England, Scotland, and Wales |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-wYOAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA112|accessdate=1 December 2010|year=1992|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-05845-2|page=112}}</ref> A small part of the north chamber was separated off to form a [[cist]].<ref name="Staelens">{{cite journal|last=Staelens|first=Y. J. E.|year=1982|title=The Birdlip Cemetery|journal=Transactions of the Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society|volume=100|pages=19–31|url=http://www2.glos.ac.uk/bgas/tbgas/v100/bg100019.pdf|accessdate=1 December 2010}}</ref> The long axis of the barrow is orientated in a southeast to northwest direction.<ref name=her/>


==History of excavation==
==History of excavation==
The barrow has been excavated on three separate occasions,<ref name="Castleden"/> in 1862 by Buckman with the Cotteswold Naturalist's Field Club, in 1937 by E. M. Clifford and in 1974 by A. Saville.<ref name="Daniel">{{cite book|last=Daniel|first=G. E.|title=The Prehistoric Chamber Tombs of England and Wales|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nMw7AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA40|accessdate=1 December 2010|publisher=Cambridge University Press|page=222}}</ref><ref name="Darvill2">{{cite journal|last=Darvill|first=T. C.|author2=Grinsell L. V. |year=1989|title=Gloucestershire barrows: supplement 1961–1988|journal=Transactions of the Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society|volume=107|page=40|url=http://www2.glos.ac.uk/bgas/tbgas/v107/bg107039.pdf|accessdate=1 December 2010}}</ref> Twenty three bodies were discovered within the site.<ref name=her/> The remains of cremated children were placed in a separate cist.<ref name="Edmonds"/> It was noted that the majority had common medical problems including infections in the mouth and gums, and abscesses.<ref name=her/> It is believed that, following interment, the bodies were left for a predetermined length of time, before a specific event took place, where the tomb was sealed over permanently.<ref name=her/> [[Haematite]] was found in the mound, possibly used as face-paint to make the dead appear alive.<ref name="Clifford_1">{{cite journal|last=Clifford|first=E. M.|title=Graves found at Hailes, Gloucestershire|journal=Transactions of the Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society|volume=65|pages=187–198|url=http://www2.glos.ac.uk/bgas/tbgas/v065/bg065187.pdf|accessdate=1 December 2010}}</ref>
The barrow has been excavated on three separate occasions,<ref name="Castleden"/> in 1862 by Buckman with the Cotteswold Naturalist's Field Club, in 1937 by [[Elsie Clifford|E. M. Clifford]] and in 1974 by A. Saville.<ref name="Daniel">{{cite book|last=Daniel|first=G. E.|title=The Prehistoric Chamber Tombs of England and Wales|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nMw7AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA40|accessdate=1 December 2010|publisher=Cambridge University Press|page=222}}</ref><ref name="Darvill2">{{cite journal|last=Darvill|first=T. C.|author2=Grinsell L. V. |year=1989|title=Gloucestershire barrows: supplement 1961–1988|journal=Transactions of the Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society|volume=107|page=40|url=http://www2.glos.ac.uk/bgas/tbgas/v107/bg107039.pdf|accessdate=1 December 2010}}</ref> Twenty three bodies were discovered within the site.<ref name=her/> The remains of cremated children were placed in a separate cist.<ref name="Edmonds"/> It was noted that the majority had common medical problems including infections in the mouth and gums, and abscesses.<ref name=her/> It is believed that, following interment, the bodies were left for a predetermined length of time, before a specific event took place, where the tomb was sealed over permanently.<ref name=her/> [[Haematite]] was found in the mound, possibly used as face-paint to make the dead appear alive.<ref name="Clifford_1">{{cite journal|last=Clifford|first=E. M.|title=Graves found at Hailes, Gloucestershire|journal=Transactions of the Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society|volume=65|pages=187–198|url=http://www2.glos.ac.uk/bgas/tbgas/v065/bg065187.pdf|accessdate=1 December 2010}}</ref>


The digs uncovered the remains of fires, and pig bones, within the forecourt, indicating that ritualized meals were eaten, during burial ceremonies.<ref name=her/> Some dog bones were also uncovered on the site, but it is uncertain whether they age back to the original site, or from a later date.<ref name=bird>{{citation
The digs uncovered the remains of fires, and pig bones, within the forecourt, indicating that ritualized meals were eaten, during burial ceremonies.<ref name=her/> Some dog bones were also uncovered on the site, but it is uncertain whether they age back to the original site, or from a later date.<ref name=bird>{{citation
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}}</ref> At the time of the first excavation, Nympsfield was thought to be unique in being the only chambered barrow in which bones from birds had been discovered,<ref name=bird/> although several other such sites have now been discovered, such as the [[Tomb of the Eagles]] in the [[Orkney Islands]].<ref name="Eagles">{{cite web|url=http://www.tomboftheeagles.co.uk/introduction.asp|title=The Tomb of the Eagles|accessdate=1 December 2010}}</ref>
}}</ref> At the time of the first excavation, Nympsfield was thought to be unique in being the only chambered barrow in which bones from birds had been discovered,<ref name=bird/> although several other such sites have now been discovered, such as the [[Tomb of the Eagles]] in the [[Orkney Islands]].<ref name="Eagles">{{cite web|url=http://www.tomboftheeagles.co.uk/introduction.asp|title=The Tomb of the Eagles|accessdate=1 December 2010}}</ref>


A leaf-shaped arrow-head and shards of pottery were also discovered.<ref name="Castleden"/> Two reconstructed vessels, a bowl and a necked jar, have been attributed to [[Ebbsfleet ware]].<ref name="Smith">{{cite journal|last=Smith|first=I.|year=1968|title=Report on Late Neolithic Pits at Cam, Glos|journal=Transactions of the Bristol and Gloucstershire Archaeological Society|volume=87|page=27|url=http://www2.glos.ac.uk/bgas/tbgas/v087/bg087014.pdf|accessdate=1 December 2010}}</ref> [[Quartz]] pebbles were noted amongst the blocking deposits at both ends of the mound. This is a common feature of many long barrows in the Cotwold–Severn group, in north Wales and northern and central Ireland and is thought to have a symbolic meaning.<ref name="Jones">{{cite book|last=Darvill|first=T.|editor=Jones A. & MacGregor G.|title=Colouring the past: the significance of colour in archaeological research|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0Y2p7rPyZUcC&pg=PA81|accessdate=1 December 2010|year=2002|publisher=Berg Publishers|isbn=978-1-85973-547-3|pages=73–91|chapter=White on blonde: Quartz pebbles and the use of quartz at Neolithic monuments in the Isle of Man and beyond}}</ref>
A leaf-shaped arrow-head and shards of pottery were also discovered.<ref name="Castleden"/> Two reconstructed vessels, a bowl and a necked jar, have been attributed to [[Ebbsfleet ware]].<ref name="Smith">{{cite journal|last=Smith|first=I.|year=1968|title=Report on Late Neolithic Pits at Cam, Glos|journal=Transactions of the Bristol and Gloucstershire Archaeological Society|volume=87|page=27|url=http://www2.glos.ac.uk/bgas/tbgas/v087/bg087014.pdf|accessdate=1 December 2010}}</ref> [[Quartz]] pebbles were noted amongst the blocking deposits at both ends of the mound. This is a common feature of many long barrows in the [[Cotswold-Severn Group]], in north Wales and northern and central Ireland and is thought to have a symbolic meaning.<ref name="Jones">{{cite book|last=Darvill|first=T.|editor=Jones A. & MacGregor G.|title=Colouring the past: the significance of colour in archaeological research|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0Y2p7rPyZUcC&pg=PA81|accessdate=1 December 2010|year=2002|publisher=Berg Publishers|isbn=978-1-85973-547-3|pages=73–91|chapter=White on blonde: Quartz pebbles and the use of quartz at Neolithic monuments in the Isle of Man and beyond}}</ref>


Nympsfield Long Barrow is part of the Cotswold–Severn group of monuments. It is similar in layout to the chambered tombs of [[Uley Long Barrow|Uley]] and [[Notgrove Long Barrow|Notgrove]]. It lies close to the so-called "Soldier's Grave" round barrow.<ref name="Darvill">{{cite book|last1=Darvill|first1=T.|last2=Stamper|first2=P.|last3=Timby|first3=J.|title=England: an Oxford archaeological guide to sites from earliest times to AD 1600 |url=https://archive.org/details/oxfordarchaeolog00timo|url-access=registration|accessdate=1 December 2010|series=Oxford archaeological guides|year=2002|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-284101-8|page=[https://archive.org/details/oxfordarchaeolog00timo/page/296 296]}}</ref> The site was also occupied in both the [[Iron Age]] and [[Romano-British culture|Roman]] times.<ref>{{cite book|last=Woodcock|first=R.|title=A year of walks in the Cotswolds|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nkkH0rUbzRsC&pg=PA110|accessdate=1 December 2010|year=1998|publisher=Sigma|isbn=978-1-85058-608-1|page=110}}</ref>
Nympsfield Long Barrow is part of the Cotswold–Severn group of monuments. It is similar in layout to the chambered tombs of [[Uley Long Barrow|Uley]] and [[Notgrove Long Barrow|Notgrove]]. It lies close to the so-called "Soldier's Grave" round barrow.<ref name="Darvill">{{cite book|last1=Darvill|first1=T.|last2=Stamper|first2=P.|last3=Timby|first3=J.|title=England: an Oxford archaeological guide to sites from earliest times to AD 1600 |url=https://archive.org/details/oxfordarchaeolog00timo|url-access=registration|accessdate=1 December 2010|series=Oxford archaeological guides|year=2002|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-284101-8|page=[https://archive.org/details/oxfordarchaeolog00timo/page/296 296]}}</ref> The site was also occupied in both the [[Iron Age]] and [[Romano-British culture|Roman]] times.<ref>{{cite book|last=Woodcock|first=R.|title=A year of walks in the Cotswolds|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nkkH0rUbzRsC&pg=PA110|accessdate=1 December 2010|year=1998|publisher=Sigma|isbn=978-1-85058-608-1|page=110}}</ref>
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==External links==
==External links==
{{Commons category|Nympsfield Long Barrow}}
{{Commons category|Nympsfield Long Barrow}}
*[https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/nympsfield-long-barrow/ History and Research on Nympsfield barrow:English Heritage]
* [https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/nympsfield-long-barrow/ History and Research on Nympsfield barrow]—[[English Heritage]]

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{{Coord|51.71025|-2.29970|display=inline,title|region:GB_type:landmark}}


{{Long Barrows in Britain}}
{{Long Barrows in Britain}}


⚫
[[Category:Stone Age Britain]]
⚫
[[Category:Barrows in England]]
[[Category:Archaeological sites in Gloucestershire]]
[[Category:Archaeological sites in Gloucestershire]]
⚫
[[Category:Barrows in England]]
[[Category:English Heritage sites in Gloucestershire]]
[[Category:English Heritage sites in Gloucestershire]]
[[Category:Museum of Gloucester]]
⚫
[[Category:Stone Age Britain]]

Latest revision as of 20:00, 29 September 2024

51°42′37″N 2°17′59″W / 51.71025°N 2.29970°W / 51.71025; -2.29970

Nympsfield Long Barrow is the remains of a Neolithic burial site or barrow, located close to the village of Nympsfield in Gloucestershire, South West England.[1]

It lies at the edge of a woods, and is now the location of a picnic site.[1] It is one of the earliest examples of a barrow with separate chambers.[2] It was constructed around 2800 BC.[3]

It is a Scheduled Monument (number 22857) in the guardianship of English Heritage.[4][5][full citation needed]

Many of the finds from excavations at this site are now in the Gloucester City Museum.

Location

[edit]

Nympsfield Long Barrow is sited to the southeast of the B4066 road, around 6 miles (10 km) southwest of Stroud, and approximately 14 miles (23 km) west of Cirencester within Coaley Peak Country Park.[1] The tumulus is no longer visible.[1] In common with other barrows in the area it lies on the edge of a scarp of Jurassic oolitic (egg stone) limestone.[2][6]

Layout

[edit]

The barrow is 27 by 18 metres (89 ft × 59 ft) in size and overall trapezoidal in shape. There is evidence of curving walls behind the east entrance, which leads into a square forecourt area, opening onto a central passage.[1] Three chambers lead off this passage, two larger chambers to either side and one small one to the end, divided off by constricting stones to restrict access.[7][8] A small part of the north chamber was separated off to form a cist.[9] The long axis of the barrow is orientated in a southeast to northwest direction.[1]

History of excavation

[edit]

The barrow has been excavated on three separate occasions,[8] in 1862 by Buckman with the Cotteswold Naturalist's Field Club, in 1937 by E. M. Clifford and in 1974 by A. Saville.[10][11] Twenty three bodies were discovered within the site.[1] The remains of cremated children were placed in a separate cist.[6] It was noted that the majority had common medical problems including infections in the mouth and gums, and abscesses.[1] It is believed that, following interment, the bodies were left for a predetermined length of time, before a specific event took place, where the tomb was sealed over permanently.[1] Haematite was found in the mound, possibly used as face-paint to make the dead appear alive.[12]

The digs uncovered the remains of fires, and pig bones, within the forecourt, indicating that ritualized meals were eaten, during burial ceremonies.[1] Some dog bones were also uncovered on the site, but it is uncertain whether they age back to the original site, or from a later date.[13] At the time of the first excavation, Nympsfield was thought to be unique in being the only chambered barrow in which bones from birds had been discovered,[13] although several other such sites have now been discovered, such as the Tomb of the Eagles in the Orkney Islands.[14]

A leaf-shaped arrow-head and shards of pottery were also discovered.[8] Two reconstructed vessels, a bowl and a necked jar, have been attributed to Ebbsfleet ware.[15] Quartz pebbles were noted amongst the blocking deposits at both ends of the mound. This is a common feature of many long barrows in the Cotswold-Severn Group, in north Wales and northern and central Ireland and is thought to have a symbolic meaning.[16]

Nympsfield Long Barrow is part of the Cotswold–Severn group of monuments. It is similar in layout to the chambered tombs of Uley and Notgrove. It lies close to the so-called "Soldier's Grave" round barrow.[7] The site was also occupied in both the Iron Age and Roman times.[17]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Lord Montagu of Beaulieu (1987). P. H. Reed (ed.). English Heritage. Hampstead Road, London: English Heritage / Macdonald Queen Anne Press. p. 81. ISBN 0-356-12773-7.
  2. ^ a b Leslie V. Grinsell (1958), The archaeology of wessex, Methuen, p. 10
  3. ^ Reynolds, Kev (2007), The Cotswold Way: Two-Way National Trail Description, Cicerone Press Limited, ISBN 978-1-85284-552-0
  4. ^ Historic England. "Monument No. 113212". Research records (formerly PastScape). Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  5. ^ National Monuments Records: English Heritage
  6. ^ a b Edmonds, M. (2002). Ancestral Geographies of the Neolithic: Landscapes, Monuments and Memory. Routledge. pp. 63, 65. ISBN 978-0-203-02019-7. Retrieved 1 December 2010.
  7. ^ a b Darvill, T.; Stamper, P.; Timby, J. (2002). England: an Oxford archaeological guide to sites from earliest times to AD 1600. Oxford archaeological guides. Oxford University Press. p. 296. ISBN 978-0-19-284101-8. Retrieved 1 December 2010.
  8. ^ a b c Castleden, R. (1992). Neolithic Britain: new stone age sites of England, Scotland, and Wales. Routledge. p. 112. ISBN 978-0-415-05845-2. Retrieved 1 December 2010.
  9. ^ Staelens, Y. J. E. (1982). "The Birdlip Cemetery" (PDF). Transactions of the Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society. 100: 19–31. Retrieved 1 December 2010.
  10. ^ Daniel, G. E. The Prehistoric Chamber Tombs of England and Wales. Cambridge University Press. p. 222. Retrieved 1 December 2010.
  11. ^ Darvill, T. C.; Grinsell L. V. (1989). "Gloucestershire barrows: supplement 1961–1988" (PDF). Transactions of the Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society. 107: 40. Retrieved 1 December 2010.
  12. ^ Clifford, E. M. "Graves found at Hailes, Gloucestershire" (PDF). Transactions of the Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society. 65: 187–198. Retrieved 1 December 2010.
  13. ^ a b Society of Antiquaries of London (1869), Archaeologia, Or Miscellaneous Tracts Relating to Antiquity, Volume 42, Part 1, General Books LLC, retrieved 21 November 2010
  14. ^ "The Tomb of the Eagles". Retrieved 1 December 2010.
  15. ^ Smith, I. (1968). "Report on Late Neolithic Pits at Cam, Glos" (PDF). Transactions of the Bristol and Gloucstershire Archaeological Society. 87: 27. Retrieved 1 December 2010.
  16. ^ Darvill, T. (2002). "White on blonde: Quartz pebbles and the use of quartz at Neolithic monuments in the Isle of Man and beyond". In Jones A. & MacGregor G. (ed.). Colouring the past: the significance of colour in archaeological research. Berg Publishers. pp. 73–91. ISBN 978-1-85973-547-3. Retrieved 1 December 2010.
  17. ^ Woodcock, R. (1998). A year of walks in the Cotswolds. Sigma. p. 110. ISBN 978-1-85058-608-1. Retrieved 1 December 2010.
[edit]
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