Long Barrows by Mossthorn
The oval Neolithic Long Barrows of Mossthorn (also known as Long Cairns as both are built from a mixture of stone and earth) are located southeast of Mossthorn Farm, west of Penrith in Cumbria on the north of the B5288 (Greystoke Road). The road here follows the course of a flat valley running from northwest to southeast. The Barrows are located on the slope of the "Copt Howe Ridge", a slight elevation that, like the axes of the Long Barrows, extends approximately southeast. They follow the contours of the land in much the same way as many of the Lincolnshire Long Barrows do .
The two Long Barrows ( English non-megalithic monuments ) have not yet been excavated, but like their investigated counterparts do not contain any stone fixtures. The use of wood, chalk or peat to build tombs in England was determined by the availability of resources , similar to the spread of unmegalithic and megalithic structures in the Funnel Beaker Culture (TBK) area .
description
The southern Long Barrow seems better preserved and is about 50 meters long and four meters high. Its southern end is covered with grass, while the northern end appears to have been constantly plowed.
The northern Long Barrow measures about 35 m, but is less than two meters high and completely overgrown.
The valley passes by the nearby Sewborrans menhir and towards Penrith, near the Eamont River, at the Skirsgill menhir. About a kilometer east are the Henges of Mayburgh and King Arthur's Round Table . It seems like all of these monuments are somehow connected.
literature
- Paul Ashbee: The Earthen Long Barrow in Britain: An Introduction to the Study of the Funerary Practice and Culture of the Neolithic People of the Third Millennium BC. Geo Books. 1984 ISBN 0-8609-4170-1 .
- Frances Lynch: Megalithic Tombs and Long Barrows in Britain. Shire Publications Ltd. 1997 ISBN 0-7478-0341-2 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Cairn means a stone and barrow a mound of earth. Here, like in nearby Bewcastle, one of the very rare mixes occurred. However, since the hills are surrounded by earthen barrows, the designation cairn is not appropriate.
Web links
Coordinates: 54 ° 39 ′ 59 " N , 2 ° 48 ′ 12" W.