transition from the hunter-gatherer Mesolithic to the pastoralist Early Neolithic. Others have suggested that these monuments were built on sites already deemed sacred by Mesolithic hunter-gatherers. Later history During excavation of the site, four ceramic sherds were found nearby which the excavator believed were possibly Early Iron Age in origin. Excavation also revealed 830 ceramic sherds dating from Roman Britain; these reflected all four centuries of this period, although the majority were 4th century. Also dated to the 4th century was a hut erected on a flat area adjacent to the barrow. Excavation of this hut uncovered 750 ceramic sherds, charcoal, iron nails, burnt clay, bone, and flint fragments. Examining this assemblage of artefacts, the excavator noted that it was not typical of the item assemblages usually found at Romano-British settlement sites, implying that the building was a field shelter rather than a house. Evidence for human activity near the barrow from the 11th through to the 13th century—during the Middle Ages—appeared in the form of 200 ceramic sherds, two hones, and 17 fragments of daub found by archaeologists in the top soil. It was probably in this medieval period that the tomb was heavily destroyed, since medieval material was found in some of the pits created by those damaging the chamber and barrow. The destruction was carried out in a systematic manner. Initially, the barrow around the chamber was dug away, and an entrance into it was forced through the drystone wall at the north-western end. The chamber was then cleared down to the bedrock, with the spoil and contents of the chamber dumped behind the diggers. The medial stone of the chamber was pushed atop the spoil heap, and covered over with soil. A pit was dug in the centre of the chamber, and against its walls from the outside; the central pit was then sealed by the collapsing capstones. Finally, several pits were dug around the façade stones. Subsequently, the chamber collapsed, with several stones breaking on the impact of the fall. At some point after they had fallen, the inner pair of the chamber's tall stones were further damaged, likely in a process involving heating them with fire and then casting cold water onto them, resulting in breakage. From the available evidence, it was clear that this demolition was not carried out with the intent of collecting building stone nor for the clearance of ground for