Information for record number MWA5559:
Possible Neolithic Mortuary Enclosure, Barford

Summary The site of a C-shaped enclosure containing pits and post holes. It may have been a Neolithic mortuary enclosure. The site is 1km north east of Bushey Hill, Barford.
What Is It?  
Type: Mortuary Enclosure, Pit, Post Hole, Enclosure
Period: Early Neolithic - Early Bronze Age (4000 BC - 2351 BC)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Barford
District: Warwick, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 28 62
(Data represented on this map shows the current selected record as a single point, this is for illustrative purposes only and does not represent an accurate or complete representation of archaeological sites or features)
Level of Protection National - Old SMR PrefRef (Grade: )
Sites & Monuments Record
Picture(s) attached

  
Description

  
Source Number  

1 Excavated 1972-3. A C-shaped enclosure at the end of the cursus (MWA719) was totally excavated. It was termed the 'mortuary enclosure' on typological grounds; there was in fact no evidence for this or any other function, nor for its date. Within the enclosure were pits and post holes, the latter possibly evidence of a structure whose plan cannot readily be resolved. The relationship between the cursus and the enclosure was uncertain.
2 The date and exact significance of this structure is unknown.
4 Scheduled as Warwickshire Monument No 139.
5 The site has now been descheduled.
 
Sources
Source No: 5
Source Type: Correspondence
Title: Mortuary enclosure, Barford
Author/originator: Connelly M L
Date: 1989
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Excavation Report
Title: Midlands Prehistory
Author/originator: Gibson A
Date: 1989
Page Number: 64-7
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Plan
Title: Midlands Prehistory
Author/originator: Gibson A
Date: 1989
Page Number: Fig 4:5
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Serial
Title: WMA vol 25
Author/originator: Hunt A
Date: 1982
Page Number: 10, 20
Volume/Sheet: 25
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Scheduling record
Title: Barford
Author/originator: DoE
Date:
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Images:  
A possible Neolithic mortuary enclosure visible as a cropmark near Barford
Copyright: WA Baker
Date: 1962
Click here for larger image  
 
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
source WMA West Midlands Archaeology. This publication contains a short description for each of the sites where archaeological work has taken place in the previous year. It covers Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, West Midlands and Worcestershire. Some of these descriptions include photographs, plans and drawings of the sites and/or the finds that have been discovered. The publication is produced by the Council For British Archaeology (CBA) West Midlands and is published annually. Copies are held at the Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record. back
period Neolithic About 4000 BC to 2351 BC

The word ‘Neolithic’ means ‘New Stone Age’. Archaeologists split up the Neolithic period into three phases; early, middle and late. The Neolithic period comes after the Mesolithic period and before the Bronze Age.

People in the Neolithic period hunted and gathered food as their ancestors had but they were also began to farm. They kept animals and grew crops. This meant that they were able to settle more permanently in one location instead of constantly moving from place to place to look for food.
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period Bronze Age About 2500 BC to 700 BC

The Bronze Age comes after the Neolithic period and before the Iron Age.

The day to day life of people in the Bronze Age probably changed little from how their ancestors had lived during the Neolithic period. They still lived in farmsteads, growing crops and rearing animals.

During the Bronze Age people discovered how to use bronze, an alloy of tin and copper (hence the name that has given to this era). They used it to make their tools and other objects, although they continued to use flint and a range of organic materials as well. A range of bronze axes, palstaves and spears has been found in Warwickshire.
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monument SITE * Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible. back
monument CURSUS * A long narrow rectangular earthwork enclosure of Neolithic date, usually defined by a bank and ditch and presumed to be of ceremonial function. Known examples range in length from less than 100m to c.10km. back
monument PIT * A hole or cavity in the ground, either natural or the result of excavation. Use more specific type where known. back
monument MORTUARY ENCLOSURE * A subrectangular earthen enclosure defined by a ditch, usually with an internal bank, assumed to have been used for the primary exposure or burial of human remains in the Neolithic period prior to secondary burial elsewhere. back
monument ENCLOSURE * An area of land enclosed by a boundary ditch, bank, wall, palisade or other similar barrier. Use specific type where known. back
monument STRUCTURE * A construction of unknown function, either extant or implied by archaeological evidence. If known, use more specific type. back
monument POST HOLE * A hole dug to provide a firm base for an upright post, often with stone packing. Use broader monument type where known. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record