Editing Coldrum Long Barrow (section)

{{short description|Neolithic chambered long barrow in Kent, England}}
{{featured article}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2017}}

{{Infobox museum
|name          = Coldrum Long Barrow<br>(Coldrum Stones)
|image         = Part of Coldrum Long Barrow - geograph.org.uk - 482591.jpg
|imagesize     = 250px
|caption       = The eastern side of the monument, showing the surviving stone burial chamber at the top of the slope and fallen [[sarsen]]s at the bottom
|map_type      = Kent
|map_caption   = Location within Kent
|coordinates   = {{coord|51.3216|0.3728|region:GB|display=inline,title}}
|established   = Early Neolithic 
|dissolved     =
|location      = [[Trottiscliffe]], [[Kent]]
|type          = [[Long barrow]]
|visitors      =
|director      =
|curator       =
|publictransit =
|website       =
}}

The '''Coldrum Long Barrow''', also known as the '''Coldrum Stones''' and the '''Adscombe Stones''', is a [[chambered long barrow]] located near the village of [[Trottiscliffe]] in the [[South East England|south-eastern English]] county of [[Kent]]. Probably constructed in the [[fourth millennium BCE]], during [[Britain's Early Neolithic period]], today it survives only in a state of [[ruin]].

[[Archaeologists]] have established that the monument was built by [[pastoralism|pastoralist]] communities shortly after the introduction of [[agriculture]] to Britain from continental Europe. Part of an architectural tradition of long barrow building that was widespread across Neolithic Europe, the Coldrum Stones belong to a localised regional variant of barrows produced in the vicinity of the [[River Medway]], now known as the [[Medway Megaliths]]. Of these, it is in the best surviving condition. It lies near to both [[Addington Long Barrow]] and [[Chestnuts Long Barrow]] on the western side of the river. Two further surviving long barrows, [[Kit's Coty House]] and [[Little Kit's Coty House]], as well as possible survivals such as the [[Coffin Stone]] and [[White Horse Stone]], are located on the Medway's eastern side.

Built out of earth and around fifty local [[sarsen]]-stone [[megalith]]s, the long barrow consisted of a sub-rectangular earthen [[tumulus]] enclosed by kerb-stones. Within the eastern end of the tumulus was a stone chamber, into which human remains were deposited on at least two separate occasions during the Early Neolithic. [[Osteoarchaeological]] analysis of these remains has shown them to be those of at least seventeen individuals, a mixture of men, women, and children. At least one of the bodies had been dismembered before burial, potentially reflecting a funerary tradition of [[excarnation]] and [[secondary burial]]. As with other barrows, Coldrum has been interpreted as a tomb to house the remains of the dead, perhaps as part of a belief system involving [[ancestor veneration]], although archaeologists have suggested that it may also have had further religious, ritual, and cultural connotations and uses.

After the Early Neolithic, the long barrow fell into a state of ruined dilapidation, perhaps experiencing deliberate destruction in the Late Medieval period, either by [[Christianity|Christian]] iconoclasts or treasure hunters. In local [[folklore]], the site became associated with the burial of a prince and the [[countless stones]] motif. The ruin attracted the interest of [[antiquarian]]s in the 19th century, while [[archaeological excavation]] took place in the early 20th. In 1926, ownership was transferred to heritage charity the [[National Trust]]. Open without charge to visitors all year around, the stones are the site of a [[Wish tree|rag tree]], a [[May Day]] [[morris dance]], and various [[modern Pagan]] rituals.