Copt Hill, Neolithic cremations

Excavations of this barrow in 1877 by Dr. Greenwell revealed a Neolithic deposit of cremated bones, perhaps surrounded by boulders, occupying a space 34 feet by 6 feet, with at each end an oblong stone-lined hole filled with charcoal and covered with limestone. The excavator believed that this site was a "flue cremation", but Young, the most recent writer on the subject, suggests that the feature may have been the burnt and collapsed remains of an axial mortuary structure, resembling a low ridge tent, i.e. the two holes may have been large postholes to support a ridge pole. It was not possible to say how many bodies had been placed there, and no artifacts were found associated with them. The burial was situated some 5 feet south of the centre of the mound, and aligned east-west.