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Kington Down Farm

Long Barrow

Fieldnotes

A Spring visit this time and it's currently the haunt of partridges. This barrow must have been really something once - it's still reasonably high and I felt irritated that the other end of the barrow is totally flattened. It made me ponder how many other barrows must have existed but been wiped clean away. I couldn't see any of the big stones I'd seen in winter as plants cover everything - but there are a great deal of little flat stones round about, and I did wonder whether they could be from some Cotswold Severn style walling?

I was pleased to spot the barrow's twin* for the first time, through the hedge on the other side of the road. It seems directly opposite - it made me wonder how old the road is. The crops are only just sprouting so the barrow was clearly visible by its contrasting tufty grass. The multimap aerial photo shows it was ploughed, but it's quite clear on the Google map now. The farmer obviously looks after it now, which is excellent - surely the poor thing's been hammered enough over the millennia. It's on top of a small rise, but in the middle of the field so you can't really get to it. You can get an easier but not quite so clear view from the field entrance (which is blocked by some huge slabs of stone, which I did wonder about too).

*[gah - now looking at Magic it appears someone's changed their mind and this is now down as some round barrows - though there's no additional information. They are pretty much parallel to the long barrow though. I liked it when I thought there were two long barrows. Oh well. At least they make their own appearance on the SMR.]
Rhiannon Posted by Rhiannon
18th March 2009ce
Edited 18th March 2009ce

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