Talk:Oval barrow

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I have added a note on the oval barrow recently excavated on Whiteleaf Hill. This seems to cast doubt on the date (unreferenced) mentioned in the article and I have therefore deleted this. The article needs rewriting with more information and adequate references and I hope that someone more knowledgeable than I can do this.Waysider83 (talk) 18:04, 30 December 2008 (UTC)


 * I have removed pointless links to county names which do not seem to identify the oval barrows within those counties. The description of the individual sites needs to be added. Please note Waysider1925 is the same as Waysider83. I created a new identity by mistake! Waysider1925 (talk) 16:34, 31 December 2008 (UTC)


 * The opening paragraphs need citations to be added and possibly re-writing. Examples need to be inserted and briefly described. I have deleted the statement that the barrow has a diameter of 10m, because it is not clear which dimension of an oval is the diameter. The Whiteleaf barrow is (very roughly) 21m by 15m.  Waysider1925 (talk) 18:31, 31 December 2008 (UTC)

Opening paragraph - general description
I have removed the following words because citations were requested in January last and have not been supplied. Also the statements do not seem to apply to Oval barrows generally. If they apply to particular oval barrows, this should be made clear and the wording changed appropriately with citations giving authority for each statement.

Words removed:
 * They normally contain a number of burial pits, containing crouched inhumations and evidence of Beaker grave goods.
 * Often a stone cairn was raised over the top with an earth barrow covering that, using material excavated from a surrounding oval-shaped ditch.
 * The ditches appear to have been dug in sections and are not always symmetrically oval. Signs of shafts being dug into the barrow are known and these may have been for the removal and re-insertion of remains. At least one other example indicates burials taking place over a long period, with each successive inhumation being buried at 90 degrees to its predecessor.

A new introductory paragraph with an authoritative introduction to the subject is needed. I have not yet found a suitable source for this.

Waysider1925 (talk) 12:09, 28 September 2009 (UTC)