Monument record MLI43621 - Giants' Hills 1

Summary

One of a group of Neolithic long barrows to the north-west of Skendleby Lodge Farm, known as Giants' Hills.

Type and Period (2)

  • (Neolithic - 4000 BC to 2201 BC)
  • (Neolithic - 4000 BC to 2201 BC)

Protected Status/Designation

Full Description

One of a group of Neolithic long barrows to the north-west of Skendleby Lodge Farm, known as Giants' Hills (this being Giants' Hills 1). The barrow was excavated by C.W. Phillips in 1933-4. Pottery and other objects found in the surrounding ditch indicate Bronze Age and early Iron Age settlement of this area as well. For a detailed description see the excavation report in Archaeologia, vol.85 (1936). {1}{2}{3} This barrow can be seen on aerial photographs as an extant earthwork, measuring 40m long by about 15m wide. {4}{5} Scheduled as the partly reconstructed earthwork and buried remains of a Neolithic long barrow, located 72m above sea level on the slope of a chalk ridge, abutting the south western boundary of a cultivated field 575m north-west of Skendleby Lodge Farm. It is aligned north-west to south-east and is approximately 75m long by 35m wide, standing to a height of c.1.3m. The barrow was the subject of pioneering archaeological investigations in 1933, making a major contribution to our basic understanding of English long barrows, in particular the characterisation of the long barrows of the Lincolnshire Wolds as a distinctive regional group. The work demonstrated that, while the mortuary practices of the barrow builders bore a similarity to those previously investigated on the Yorkshire Wolds, Giants Hill did not have the long, flanking ditches which were considered to be typical of the monument type. Instead, the ditch was shown to enclose the mound completely except for a causeway to the north-west, a feature which is now known to be a typical feature of many Lincolnshire long barrows. Radiocarbon dating applied to the finds in the 1950s (one of the earliest examples of this method of dating) indicates that the monument's construction began around 2970BC while Beaker pottery found within the mound demonstrates that the monument continued in use into the later Neolithic period. This very long period of construction and use - c.1000 years - began with an enclosure set aside for mortuary activities. This enclosure, which contained evidence for hurdlework partitions, may have been used for the exposure of human remains, or it may have been the final resting place of remains exposed elsewhere. The skeletons of eight individuals were discovered, together with a quantity of bone fragments. The final phase was the construction of a substantial mound over the enclosure, material for this being quarried from the surrounding ditch. Pottery and other finds recovered from the ditch fill also demonstrates that the monument continued to be a focus of attention and activity during the Bronze Age and Iron Age. Although the investigations of 1933 were extensive, portions of the mound and ditch were left unexcavated, with the mound being subsequently reconstructed to its present appearance. For the full description and the legal address of this scheduled monument please refer to the appropriate entry in the National Heritage List for England. {6}{7}{8}{9} Giants' Hills 1 is an extant mound with fully-enclosing quarry ditches which produce an oblong form with convex terminals. It measures 64m by 23m and is aligned south-east to north-west, with the long axis running parallel to the contours. It lies on a south-facing valley lip, at 70m above OD. The ditch circuit is interrupted by a narrow causeway at the north-western end. {10}{11} The irregular earthwork spine of what remains of the long barrow could be seen on images derived from digital elevation models of the site. Because it lies within an area of crop reversion, it is hard to identify anything other than the earthwork remains which appear to be the spine of the barrow which was protected by the field boundary which originally ran long the axis. The barrow appears to have been ploughed away on either side of the boundary, though there may be some sub-surface remains. {12}

Sources/Archives (12)

  •  Index: Ordnance Survey. Ordnance Survey Card Index. TF 47 SW: 9.
  •  Article in Serial: C.W. Phillips. 1936. 'The Excavation of the Giants' Hills Long Barrow, Skendleby, Lincolnshire' in Archaeologia. vol.85, pp.37-106.
  •  Scheduling Record: HBMC. AM 7. -.
  •  Aerial Photograph: 1946-98. RCHME. 2401/25-8 (1986).
  •  Map: Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England. 1992-1996. Lincolnshire National Mapping Programme. TF4271: LI.109.8.1.
  •  Bibliographic Reference: Jeffrey May. 1976. Prehistoric Lincolnshire. pp.46-9, 61, 63, 95, 127.
  •  Bibliographic Reference: Nikolaus Pevsner and John Harris, with Nicholas Antram. 1989. Buildings of England: Lincolnshire (Second Edition). p.647.
  •  Scheduling Record: ENGLISH HERITAGE. 1997. REVISED SCHEDULING DOCUMENT 27866. MPP 24.
  •  Website: Historic England (formerly English Heritage). 2011->. The National Heritage List for England. http://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/. 1014832.
  •  Article in Serial: Dilwyn Jones. 1998. 'Long Barrows and Neolithic Elongated Enclosures in Lincolnshire: An Analysis of the Air Photographic Evidence' in Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society. vol.64, pp.83-114, fig.7, no.2.
  •  Index: Dilwyn Jones. 1998. Gazetteer of Neolithic Elongated Enclosures and Extant Long Barrows in (Historic) Lincolnshire. no.2.
  •  Index: Ordnance Survey. Ordnance Survey Card Index. TF 47 SW: 9.

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Location

Grid reference Centred TF 4287 7110 (68m by 63m) Estimated from Sources
Civil Parish SKENDLEBY, EAST LINDSEY, LINCOLNSHIRE

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Record last edited

Feb 7 2025 9:23AM

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