South Street barrow
Encyclopedia
The South Street barrow is a Neolithic
long barrow
in the English
county
of Wiltshire
near Beckhampton.
It lies around 130m (140 yds) south east of the cove
of The Longstones
and may therefore be connected with the Neolithic
ritual
landscape centred on Avebury.
It was excavated between 1964 and 1966 by Paul Ashbee
who found no evidence of burials beneath the barrow
and conjectured that it was a kind of cenotaph
. He found that it had been built around a number of wicker
partitions using alternate layers of white chalk
and darker earth. This material was probably excavated from flanking ditches that surrounded the site.
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...
long barrow
Long barrow
A long barrow is a prehistoric monument dating to the early Neolithic period. They are rectangular or trapezoidal tumuli or earth mounds traditionally interpreted as collective tombs...
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
County
A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain modern nations. Historically in mainland Europe, the original French term, comté, and its equivalents in other languages denoted a jurisdiction under the sovereignty of a count A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain...
of Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
near Beckhampton.
It lies around 130m (140 yds) south east of the cove
Cove (standing stones)
Cove is a term used to describe a tightly concentrated group of large standing stones found in Neolithic and Bronze Age England. Coves are square or rectangular in plan and seem to have served as small enclosures within other henge, stone circle or avenue features. They consist of three or four...
of The Longstones
The Longstones
The Longstones or the Devil's Quoits are two standing stones one of which is the remains of what was once a prehistoric 'cove' of standing stones close to Beckhampton in the English county of Wiltshire....
and may therefore be connected with the Neolithic
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...
ritual
Ritual
A ritual is a set of actions, performed mainly for their symbolic value. It may be prescribed by a religion or by the traditions of a community. The term usually excludes actions which are arbitrarily chosen by the performers....
landscape centred on Avebury.
It was excavated between 1964 and 1966 by Paul Ashbee
Paul Ashbee
Paul Ashbee, was a leading British archaeologist, celebrated for his many excavations of barrows, or burial mounds, and for co-directing the Sutton Hoo digs from 1964 to 1972; he was perhaps less well known as president of the Just William Society, established in 1995 to celebrate the literary...
who found no evidence of burials beneath the barrow
Tumulus
A tumulus is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, Hügelgrab or kurgans, and can be found throughout much of the world. A tumulus composed largely or entirely of stones is usually referred to as a cairn...
and conjectured that it was a kind of cenotaph
Cenotaph
A cenotaph is an "empty tomb" or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been interred elsewhere. The word derives from the Greek κενοτάφιον = kenotaphion...
. He found that it had been built around a number of wicker
Wicker
Wicker is hard woven fiber formed into a rigid material, usually used for baskets or furniture. Wicker is often made of material of plant origin, but plastic fibers are also used....
partitions using alternate layers of white chalk
Chalk
Chalk is a soft, white, porous sedimentary rock, a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite. Calcite is calcium carbonate or CaCO3. It forms under reasonably deep marine conditions from the gradual accumulation of minute calcite plates shed from micro-organisms called coccolithophores....
and darker earth. This material was probably excavated from flanking ditches that surrounded the site.