74 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 
1995), but by major topographical features to which 
views of the barrows are clearly oriented. Three 
barrows are specially sited to the south of the river 
to look into the valley; one is located in the valley 
(Sherrington 1); and only one (Stockton) on the 
higher chalk down has no significant view shed into 
the Wylye. Indeed its views are into two dry valleys. 
Those which look into the Wylye (Boyton 1, 
Sherrington 4 and Sutton Veny) are all false-crested 
from it. Similarly, to the north of the river we can 
see one barrow which looks into the Wylye (King 
Barrow), while a number, including Bowl’s Barrow, 
are on the High Plain and most overlook the Valley, 
four are clearly sited to overlook the Oxendean 
valley from which they are false-crested. Thus over 
75% of the large density of long barrows in this area 
reflect the significance of the Wylye Valley (Figure 
5), of which over a third are specifically sited in it, 
or to view it (Table 2). 
Other Activity of the Wylye Valley 
Environs 
As is typical with the earlier Neolithic, there is little 
else to accompany these mortuary monuments. 
Isolated casual finds are recorded and both early 
Neolithic pottery and flints have been recovered 
from excavations such as beneath Bronze Age 
barrows on Lamb Down (Vatcher 1963, 431 and 
418) and part of a Group | stone axe was found not 
far away (SMR ST93NE106). There are no 
causewayed enclosures confidently listed although 
the internal earthworks within Scatchbury to the 
west (Corney pers. com.) may be an unconfirmed 
example. The presence of relatively large numbers 
of long barrows in the environs of Corton, and 
particularly in the Wylye Valley (cf. Kinnes 1992) is 
a clear indication of well-established early 
Neolithic communities, and this paper shows the 
Wylye Valley as a focus of some of that activity/ 
attention. 
CONCLUSIONS 
From limited and minimally intrusive archaeo- 
logical investigation we offer the following 
conclusions: 
1. The survey has shown the traditionally 
recorded length of the Corton long barrow (216 ft, 
65.8 m; Lambert 1806; Hoare 1812, 102; Ashbee 
1970, 167; Kinnes 1992, 10; VCH 1957, 138; Wilts 
County SMR) to be in error, and we now record a 
length of 35m (c. 115 ft), in keeping with that 
published by Maud Cunnington (1914, 386-7). 
2. Despite the growth of trees over the barrow 
after 1804 (Figure 2a) which had become 
established by 1913 (Cunnington 1914, 386-7; 
Figure 2c) an ancient land surface was well 
preserved beneath the mound. The trees presently 
on the fringes of the barrow (Figure 3) provide 
shelter for cattle which are creating some surface 
damage to the edges of the mound. However, as this 
survey and augering has demonstrated, this 
‘damage’ is largely superficial. 
3. Augering has demonstrated, not surprisingly, 
the presence of flanking ditches, previously 
unrecorded. 
4. Precision augering and = sampling has 
demonstrated the presence of a well-preserved 
buried land surface of greater thickness than in 
many other recorded long barrows, from which the 
acquisition of environmental information (soils, 
snails and pollen) provides an indication of local 
clearance of the woodland around the barrow 
enabling views of the Wylye Valley. 
5. These data were obtained from very limited 
study, rapid survey and minimally intrusive auger 
examination of the extant scheduled monument. 
Acknowledgements 
This research was conducted as part of the Corton 
and Boyton millennium archaeology day which 
received Millennium Fund grant aid through the 
Heritage for All scheme. We would like to thank 
the village millennium committee; especially 
Richard Witt, Robert and Maria Mayall, and 
Barbara Saunt for the invitation and _ their 
assistance. We would like to thank the landowners 
Thomas and Caroline Wheatley-Hubbard for 
allowing us, and the villagers of Corton and 
Boyton, to visit the site and undertake this 
investigation, and the folk of the two villages who 
joined us in our investigations. 
Amanda Chadburn, English Heritage, was 
wholly supportive, providing guidance and 
permission to undertake the augering. During post- 
excavation, Duncan Coe of Wiltshire County 
Council provided detailed SMR information, and 
