Fe THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE - 
Table 2. Viewsheds of Neolithic long barrows in the Corton environs and Wylye Valley 
Fig. 5 Barrow 
South of River Wylye 
(1) Sherrington 1 (ST 968 391) K 
(1) Boyton 1 (ST 930 403) I 
(1) Sherrington 4 (ST 951 384) J 
(1) Sutton Veny (ST 911 415) H 
(3) Stockton Barrow (ST 965 376) L 
North of River Wylye 
(1) King Barrow G (ST 897 444) 
(3) Norton Bavant 13 (ST 925 459) C 
(3) Norton Bavant 14 (ST 918 459) B 
(3) Heytesbury 4 (ST 924 441) E 
(3) Knook Barrow (ST 956 446) F 
(2) Warminster 6 (ST 903 471) A 
(2) Bowl’s Barrow (ST 942 468) D 
(2) Knook 5 (ST 967 462) 
Location and Viewshed 
In the Wylye Valley, next to the river 
On low ridge looking into the Wylye Valley and on skyline from the valley 
On the first ridge looking into the Wylye Valley and on skyline from the valley 
On low greensand/lower chalk bench looking into the Wylye Valley 
On the higher ridge looking into dry valleys from which it is on the skyline 
On low greensand/lower chalk bench looking into Wylye Valley 
On Salisbury Plain false crested from the Wylye Valley and looking into 
Oxendean Bottom 
On Salisbury Plain false crested from the Wylye Valley and looking into 
Oxendean Bottom 
On Salisbury Plain false crested from Heytesbury stream and looking into 
Oxendean Bottom 
On Salisbury Plain false crested from Heytesbury stream and looking into 
Oxendean Bottom 
High Salisbury Plain, overlooking Wylye but not clearly or obviously visible 
from it 
High Salisbury Plain, overlooking Wylye but not clearly or obviously visible 
from it 
High Salisbury Plain, away from Wylye and not visible from it 
(1) barrows which look into, or are sited in, the Wylye Valley; (2) barrows on the higher Salisbury Plain that look over the 
Wylye in the distance, and (3) barrows which look into other dry valleys i.e. the Oxendean-Heytesbury valley through 
which an unnamed bourne runs and may look over, rather than into, the Wylye. 
at Corton may be explained by the lack of the great 
Neolithic monument complexes such as at 
Avebury where other analyses have been 
conducted. We have to consider, however, that the 
lower section of the augered and sampled profile 
may represent a feature such as a treehollow, 
rather than a deep soil stratigraphy. Such 
possibilities cannot be resolved with the limited 
augering programme conducted. 
The Barrow 
A chalk and earthen mound at least 35m by 15m, 
quarried from two now completely infilled, and 
previously unrecorded, ditches was thrown over the 
eight human burials. The mound, running parallel 
to the axis of the slope, overlooked the Wylye Valley 
where the long barrow of Sherrington can readily 
be seen, and thus we can assume that much of this 
area was clear of woodland. The nature of the Wylye 
Valley is not known at this time but research by 
John Evans at Stockton (Williams and Evans 2000, 
43) indicates that the floodplain was not being 
alluviated at this time (Evans pers comm). Further 
archaeological investigation at the Sherrington 
long barrow, by the authors, similar to that 
conducted at Corton, is envisaged to test this, and 
will be the subject of another paper. 
Siting of Neolithic Long Barrows in 
the Wylye Valley 
The relationship of long barrows to river valleys on 
the Salisbury Plain is explored by McOmish et al. 
(2002), and in the Wylye Valley by Eagles and Field 
(forthcoming). It is a subject that will be more 
explicitly addressed in a later paper (Allen, Gardiner 
and Scaife in prep.). A relatively large number of 
long barrows exist along the Wylye Valley, while 
thirteen are recorded east of Warminster (Kinnes 
1992, 10, fig. 14.9). Many are sited in lowland and 
valley bench locations reflecting the significance of 
