Corton Long Barrow

From Wikishire
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Corton Long Barrow is a Neolithic long barrow, a burial mound, located south from village of Corton in Wiltshire. It survives as a mound of up to 8 feet in height.

The long barrow is set below the crest of a north-facing promontory overlooking the Wylye Valley at the southern edge of Salisbury Plain. In common with others nearby, it was ovoid in plan and orientated east-west. The barrow is 164 feet long, 50 feet wide and stood to a height of eight feet until levelled.

Location

Excavation

In the late 19th century, Cunnington carried out a partial excavation of the mound and found eight skeletons contemporary with the Neoloithic construction of the barrow. He also found two later cremation burials in a pottery urn.

The ditches from which material was quarried during construction of the monument are no longer visible at ground level, but they can be traced and run parallel to the north and south sides of the mound. These have become infilled over the years but survive as buried features ten feet wide.

References