I. Giants' Hills 2 Long Barrow, Skendleby, Lincolnshire

Abstract

The Neolithic long barrow whose excavation is described in this report is one of a pair known as Giants' Hills, situated in the parish of Skendleby, Lincolnshire (NGR: TF(53)429709; Lat. 53° 12′ 40″ N., Long. 0° 8′ 30″ E.). The general geographical location is an outlier of the chalk at the southern extremity of the Lincolnshire Wolds (fig. 1). The site lay at between 56 and 58m O.D. along the gentle south-facing slope of a small river valley (fig. 2). The maximum slope is 7 degrees. Orientation was approximately south-east/north-west with what can be considered the more important end of the barrow (the front) towards the south-east. The dimensions of the preserved mound were 65 × 13m (maximum) (originally 77 × 19m), and of the entire site from the original outer edges of the ditch, 89 × 29m (maximum).The other barrow of the pair, Giants' Hills 1, was excavated by C. W. Phillips (1936). To the south-east beyond a low chalk ridge and in a topographical position similar to that of the Giants' Hills barrows lies another pair of long barrows, the Deadmen's Graves (fig. 2). On a broader geographical scale, both pairs belong to a group of about fifteen long barrows situated on the Lincolnshire Wolds (fig. 1).Excavation took place under the direction of the authors at the instigation of the Department of the Environment (now the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) because of damage sustained by ploughing. As well as being a rescue operation, the work can be seen as an integral part of research into prehistoric chalkland environments and Neolithic burial practices. Thus, financial support was provided not only by the DoE, but also by University College Cardiff and the University of Leicester. There were three field seasons. In the first two, from 4–28 September 1975 and 27 March to 10 April 1976, the western end of the site (west of line AL, fig. 4) was excavated totally. The main excavation took place between 14 August and 25 September 1976.