Long Low, Wetton
Encyclopedia
Long Low is a Neolithic
and Bronze Age
site in the English
county of Staffordshire
. It is about 2 km SE of Wetton
.
It consists of two round cairn
s linked by a connecting bank- an unusual layout and one that is unique in England. The northern cairn measures 23 m in diameter and survives to a height of 2.4 m. It appears to be related to other chamber tomb
s of the Peak District
group and was excavated by Samuel Carrington in 1849. Carrington found a burial chamber built from limestone
orthostats with a paved floor. The bones of thirteen individuals were recovered as well as three leaf-shaped flint arrowheads.
The smaller southern cairn is 15 m across and survives to 1.2 m in height following extensive modern damage. It contained evidence of a cremation burial. Further cremations were found in the connecting bank which was built from a parallel row of limestone orthostats and is around 200 m long, 10 m wide and 2 m high. It is now topped by a modern dry stone wall.
Because of the damage to the site, its rarity and the antiquity of the Carrington excavation it is unclear as to the precise nature of the monument. It is possible that the bank, is a bank barrow
which had a later Neolithic chambered cairn
(the north cairn) built on one end and then a Bronze Age round barrow
finally added at the southern end.
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
and Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
site in the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
county of Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
. It is about 2 km SE of Wetton
Wetton, Staffordshire
Wetton is a village in the Peak District National Park, North Staffordshire, at the top of the east side of the Manifold Valley. The population recorded in the 2001 Census was 157. This article describes the location, some of the main features of the village, and a number of places of historical or...
.
It consists of two round cairn
Cairn
Cairn is a term used mainly in the English-speaking world for a man-made pile of stones. It comes from the or . Cairns are found all over the world in uplands, on moorland, on mountaintops, near waterways and on sea cliffs, and also in barren desert and tundra areas...
s linked by a connecting bank- an unusual layout and one that is unique in England. The northern cairn measures 23 m in diameter and survives to a height of 2.4 m. It appears to be related to other chamber tomb
Chamber tomb
A chamber tomb is a tomb for burial used in many different cultures. In the case of individual burials, the chamber is thought to signify a higher status for the interree than a simple grave. Built from rock or sometimes wood, the chambers could also serve as places for storage of the dead from one...
s of the Peak District
Peak District
The Peak District is an upland area in central and northern England, lying mainly in northern Derbyshire, but also covering parts of Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, and South and West Yorkshire....
group and was excavated by Samuel Carrington in 1849. Carrington found a burial chamber built from limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
orthostats with a paved floor. The bones of thirteen individuals were recovered as well as three leaf-shaped flint arrowheads.
The smaller southern cairn is 15 m across and survives to 1.2 m in height following extensive modern damage. It contained evidence of a cremation burial. Further cremations were found in the connecting bank which was built from a parallel row of limestone orthostats and is around 200 m long, 10 m wide and 2 m high. It is now topped by a modern dry stone wall.
Because of the damage to the site, its rarity and the antiquity of the Carrington excavation it is unclear as to the precise nature of the monument. It is possible that the bank, is a bank barrow
Bank barrow
A bank barrow, sometimes referred to as a barrow-bank, ridge barrow, or ridge mound, is a type of tumulus first identified by O.G.S. Crawford in 1938....
which had a later Neolithic chambered cairn
Chambered cairn
A chambered cairn is a burial monument, usually constructed during the Neolithic, consisting of a cairn of stones inside which a sizeable chamber was constructed. Some chambered cairns are also passage-graves....
(the north cairn) built on one end and then a Bronze Age round barrow
Round barrow
Round barrows are one of the most common types of archaeological monuments. Although concentrated in Europe they are found in many parts of the world because of their simple construction and universal purpose....
finally added at the southern end.