 |
written and produced by
Chris Witcombe - Sweet Briar College - witcombe@sbc.edu
|
written and produced by
Chris Witcombe - Sweet Briar College - witcombe@sbc.edu
Also known as the Uley Barrow, Hetty Pegler's Tump is a chambered neolithic long barrow 120 feet long, 85 feet at its widest, and 10 feet high at the entrance end. The photograph at left is a view of the tump across the field. The background of trees is recent. Without the trees, the view would extend across the Vale of Gloucester and the Severn Valley, such as ones sees at The Toots Barrow further along the same escarpment.
Beyond the fence with the gate in it can be seen the entrance to the tump. A narrow pathway within the remains of a forecourt space leads to the low opening over which is visible the massive lintel slab supported by two uprights.
Clearly visible in the photograph here is the great lintel slab which measures over 8 feet by 4.5 feet. The entrance is about 3 feet high. The gallery beyond the entrance is 22 feet long, 3 to 5 feet in width, and 5 feet high. Originally there were two pairs of of facing side chambers on the north and south sides, but those on the north have been blocked off since 1821 when the first excavations occurred. The barrow was dug into again in 1854.
The gallery continues past the side chambers to form an end chamber at the west end. Its size can be judged by the presence of the author. During the 1821 excavation the remains of 15 skeletons were found, and a later, intrusive Roman burial above the northeast chamber.
The name Hetty Pegler derives from one of the 17th-century owners of the field in the tump is located: Hester and Henry Pegler. Hester died in 1694, and Henry in 1695.