Stoney Littleton Long Barrow
Neolithic chambered tomb in England
The Stoney Littleton Long Barrow (also known as the Bath Tumulus and the Wellow Tumulus) is a Neolithic chambered tomb with multiple burial chambers, located near the village of Wellow in the English county of Somerset. It is an example of the Cotswold-Severn Group and was scheduled as an ancient monument in 1882. It was one of the initial
monuments included when the Ancient Monuments Protection Act 1882 became law.
The chambered long barrow was built around 3500 BC. Excavations in the early 19th century uncovered bones from several individuals. The stone structure is about 30 metres (98 ft) in length and contains a 12.8-metre (42 ft) long gallery with three pairs of side chambers and an end chamber.
Location and access
The barrow is approximately 1.5 kilometres (0.9 mi) south west of the village of Wellow. It is on a limestone ridge overlooking Wellow Brook approximately 200 metres (660 ft) to the north and west of the barrow. It is surrounded by a rectangular grass area accessed via a stile and footpath from a car park at Stoney Littleton Farm.
History
Chambered long barrows were constructed during the Neolithic between 4000 and 2500 BC for the ritual inhumation of the dead. Stoney Littleton Long Barrow was probably constructed around 3500 BC.
The tomb was first opened around 1760 by a local farmer to obtain stone for road building.
“Stoney Littleton Long Barrow” enters the record as neolithic chambered tomb in England. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Stoney, Littleton and Long can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Stoney Littleton Long Barrow” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Stoney, Littleton and Long provides the most credible route into that argument.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 18, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q4443199. Authority coordinates are 51.313, -2.382. 1 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1882 and 1760.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Stoney Littleton Long Barrow”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Stoney Littleton Long Barrow primary sources, Stoney Littleton Long Barrow archive and Stoney research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Stoney Littleton Long Barrow”?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Stoney Littleton Long Barrow” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.