A fear of the past: The place of the prehistoric burial mound in the ideology of middle and later Anglo‐Saxon England

Abstract

Archaeological investigation is revealing a consistent tradition of Anglo‐Saxon secondary activity, occurring at Bronze Age burial mounds and Neolithic long barrows. Through a discussion of archaeological, historical, literary and linguistic sources relating to barrows and other types of prehistoric monument, this paper seeks to illustrate the distinctive place of the barrow in Anglo‐Saxon society and ideology. It is intended to demonstrate that the written material of the period contains vital evidence of the Anglo‐Saxon peoples’ perception of their surrounding landscape.

Keywords:

• Anglo‐Saxon
• prehistoric barrow
• documentary sources
• pagan
• Christian
• landscape perception