Stoney Littleton Long Barrow

Chambered long barrows were constructed during the Neolithic between 4000 and 2500 BC for the ritual inhumation of the dead. Stoney Littleton Long Barrow was probably constructed around 3500 BC. The tomb was first opened around 1760 by a local farmer to obtain stone for road building. The site was excavated by John Skinner and Richard Hoare in 1816–17, along with a labourer Zebedee Weston, who gained the entry through the hole which was made previously. Some of the artefacts from the excavations are in the Bristol Museum & Art Gallery. Since 1884, the Stoney Littleton Long Barrow has been in state care, and is now managed by English Heritage who have provided an information board at the…

Severn-Cotswold tombs consist of precisely-built, long trapezoid earth mounds covering a burial chamber. The Stoney Littleton Long Barrow stands on a limestone ridge overlooking Wellow Brook and the village of Wellow. It is constructed from stone, including Blue Lias and Forest Marble quarried within an 8 km radius. The roof is made of overlapping stones. There is a fossil ammonite impression decorating the left-hand doorjamb. Unusually, the barrow is not situated on flat ground and "looks as though it is sliding down the side of a hill."