Belas Knap - Winchcombe, Gloucestershire, UK - Megalithic Monuments on Waymarking.com

Belas Knap is a neolithic, chambered long barrow situated on Cleeve Hill, near Cheltenham and Winchcombe, in Gloucestershire, England. It is a scheduled ancient monument in the care of English Heritage but managed by Gloucestershire County Council. "Belas" is possibly derived from the Latin word bellus, 'beautiful', which could describe the hill or its view. "Knap" is derived from the Old English for the top, crest, or summit of a hill.

The entire chambered long barrow building is 54 m long, 18 m wide and 4.3 m high. The length of the clay rampart is oriented approximately in the north-south direction.
The burial chambers are down the long East and West sides of the barrow and at its Southern foot. There are four burial chambers, two on opposite sides near the middle, one at the South-East angle and one at the South end. These are formed of upright stone slabs, linked by dry-stone walling and originally had corbelled roofs. Little value was found in the intact grave chambers.
On the south side is the so-called false entrance - an element with intricate walls of dry stone and large limestone linings and lintels. He was either to deter thieves, or it could be a "spiritual door" designed to allow the dead to come and go and participate in the sacrifices brought to the tomb by their descendants. According to the information board, the age of the tomb is estimated at 5,500 years.

In the 1863-1865 excavations, the skeletal remains of five children, aged between 6 months and 8 years, the skull of a young adult male, horse and pig bones and fragments of pottery and serrated flint blade were found among the rubble blocking the ' false entrance '. The passages leading to the chambers were roughly blocked with stones and clay. The lintels and much of the dry walling were rebuilt on the original lines in 1863-65, when the barrow was first explored. After the 1928-1931 work, the walling was secured, three of the chambers were covered and the contour of the mound was restored. Excavations in 1963 found the remains of 38 human skeletons, together with animal bones, flint implements and pottery of the end of the Neolithic period (New Stone Age), circa 2000 BC. These burials, however, occurred over a long period of time and it may be that none date to the time when the mound was built.

The best access is from the car park.

Source: Wikipedia (visit link) and information boards in place

Type: Dolmen Parking: N 51° 56.075 W 001° 58.321 Number: 1,000.00 Size: The barrow is about 178 feet (54 m) long, about 60 feet (18 m) wide and nearly 14 feet (4.3 m) in height. Purpose: Tomb with spiritual overlap Source: Not listed

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