REPTON BARROW STRATIGRAPHY
The Repton Long Barrow sits between the parish church and the River Esk in Repton, Bluffshire, U.K. Last summer, I examined evidence for previous disturbance(s) of the site and assessed the extent to which the original Neolithic burial mound remained intact. I excavated two different sites on the mound, one on the east end and another on the west end of the barrow. While excavating and cleaning each of the sections, I recovered artifacts and human bones. I was also able to draw a stratigraphic profile of each excavation site. Using documentary sources pertaining to the Repton Long Barrow site to assist in my interpretation of the history, I was able to reconstruct the processes and events that lead to its current form.
In order to determine the time periods of the different strata and the processes to which they relate, I will give a description of the artifacts found and where they were found, as well as the describing the different layers of strata. Throughout this analysis, I will refer to the stratigraphic profiles of each excavation site. They are attached to the end of this report and labeled Figure 3.2, which I will refer to as “East”, and Figure 3.3, which I will refer to as “West”. We begin by first noting the primary layer of earth, labeled “chalk” on both figures. This original chalk layer dates back to the original Neolithic burial mound and will be an important feature in determining the time periods of the different strata and the processes to which they relate. We then notice that layer 6 from East and layer 4 from West are the same buried soil. We can assume that this is the first layer on top of the chalk layer. From this point forward is where it becomes interesting. We know that in 1136, they inhabitants of Rupptowne created a pathway through the western end of the barrow. During the creation of this pathway, they found the tomb of St. Vincent. In Figure 3.3, 7 and...