Aerial Investigation and Mapping Report - English Heritage

Although just outside the project area, this feature was mapped because of its potentialsignificance (Fig 11). Identified on aerial photographs taken in 1977, it comprises anincomplete sub-rectangular ditched enclosure which appears to be partly overlain by aring ditch, the latter presumably representing a plough-levelled Bronze Age round barrow.The enclosure presents a much fainter cropmark than the ring ditch, the lines of theditches also being incomplete on the available photographs, and is aligned WNW-ESE,measuring approximately 39 metres long, and tapering in width from 15.7 metres acrossits south-east end to 12 metres across its north-western end. Presuming it is earlier thanthe ring ditch, then a Neolithic date is possible. The rectilinear arrangement would beunusual but not unknown for a long barrow; alternatively it may represent a monument ofthe form usually referred to as ‘mortuary enclosures’ or ‘mortuary structures’.Long barrows - discussionThere is very little known about the long barrows in the project area and the few thatwere subject to early excavation lack any meaningful record of what was found.Consequently, identification must be based on morphological considerations. On thisbasis, both Money Burgh and the Camel’s humps look the most convincing cases. Hunter’sBurgh may be a round barrow, a long barrow, or both. The mound on Windover Hill maybe no more than a few centuries old. The sites at Litlington and Exceat are clearly in needof further investigation to confirm that they are archaeological features – geophysicalsurvey aimed at identifying ditches would be a useful starting point. Similarly the newdiscovery at Rathfinny Farm requires further investigation to confirm, first of all, that it isindeed earlier than the ring ditch.There are other aspects of Sussex’s long barrows that have been much discussed inrecent years, including their landscape context and setting. These would probably be bestaddressed by visiting all the sites on the ground within a study that takes in far more sitesthan those in the project area. Further work should address issues such as Litlington’slocation on a relatively gentle slope above a shallow coombe, or Windover Hill’sorientation – perpendicular to the scarp edge. Additionally, the matter of oval barrows,despite the doubts expressed in the published literature, might benefit from a wider study.© ENGLISH HERITAGE 18 22 - 2013