Lanhill Barrow

Lanhill Barrow stands in open Wiltshire farmland five kilometres west of Chippenham, a low grassy mound pointing east–west across the gentle slope. The site is one of the Cotswold Severn tombs, a type of Neolithic chambered barrow found on both sides of the River Severn. Its long profile is still visible despite centuries of ploughing and weathering. The barrow is listed as a scheduled monument, recognising its importance to national heritage. Locally it is sometimes called Hubba’s Low, a name that appears in older records. Excavations in 1909 uncovered three burial chambers, but only the northern chamber remains intact. Inside the trapezoidal chamber archaeologists found the remains of eleven adults. One skeleton lay at the front, while the bones of ten others were stacked at the rear. The skulls and limb bones had been carefully, if incorrectly, reassembled, suggesting family ties among the dead. The chamber’s unusual shape, widening towards the back, differs from other Severn-Cotswold tombs such as Five Wells. Visitors walk across open fields to reach the low mound, its edges softened by grass and wildflowers. The northern chamber lies near the centre of the eastern side, marked by upright limestone slabs. From the barrow the view stretches across the gently rolling countryside towards the distant Cotswolds. The quiet setting and the surviving stonework offer a glimpse of Neolithic burial practice without modern intrusions.