Stoney Littleton Long Barrow

Stoney Littleton is a stone-and-earth long barrow near Wellow in Somerset. Its low entrance leads into a central passage with three pairs of side chambers and another chamber at the far end. Excavation recovered both skeletal and cremated human remains, identifying it as a collective burial monument. Its likely construction date, around 3750–3400 BC, is based on comparison with scientifically dated long barrows rather than a direct radiocarbon date from this site. A farmer opened the mound to obtain stone around 1760. John Skinner and Richard Colt Hoare investigated it in 1816 and published plans and an account of their finds. Conservation in 1857–58 rebuilt parts of the retaining wall. An ammonite fossil in an entrance stone remains a distinctive feature, although its significance to the builders cannot be securely established. The surviving tomb combines prehistoric chambers with later repairs. Period: Early Neolithic; approximately 3750–3400 BC by comparison with related tombs Grid reference: ST 73492 57208 Protection: Scheduled monument Source: Historic England, https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1007910 (Open Government Licence). © Historic England 2026. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Banner photo: "Stoney Littleton Long Barrow 2015 11" by Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net), via Wikimedia Commons, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.