Long Barrows in Cheshire, England

When reading through books on the history of Cheshire, prehistory is often consigned to a couple of pages or a small chapter at most, and in general historians have led us to believe that nothing of real importance occurred in the county until the coming of the Romans. However, upon further investigation it becomes quite clear that there was once, and indeed still is, a rich prehistoric landscape, particularly in the east of the county on the western slopes of the Pennines around Macclesfield and the eastern slopes of the mid-Cheshire Ridge near Delamere.

Elongated roughly rectangular structure that may contain many burial chambers. Long barrows appear to have been in constant use with burials being added over a period of centuries, the old bones being moved around to accommodate the new interment. It is thought that bones may even have been removed for ritual use, particularly the skulls and leg bones. See also the separate listings for Chambered Tomb and Chambered Cairn.