{{short description|Neolithic entrance grave in Cornwall}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox historic site | name = Brane Barrow | image = Brane_burial_chamber_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1040.jpg | caption = The entrance grave in 2004 | map_type = England | map_caption = Location in England, United Kingdom | location = England, United Kingdom | map_relief = 2 | coordinates = {{coord|50.0968|-5.6350|type:landmark_region:GB|display=inline,title}} | type = Entrance grave | diameter = {{cvt|6.1|m}} | material = Granite | built = {{circa|1750 BC}} | discovered = 1863 by William Borlase }}
'''Brane Barrow''', or '''Chapel Euny Barrow''', is a Neolithic entrance grave located near the hamlet of Brane, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is considered to be one of the smallest and best preserved burial monuments in Britain.
==History== Entrance graves date to the later Neolithic era and Bronze Age (c. 2500-1000 BC). Circular in shape, most entrance graves were built with a mound of heaped rubble and soil, typically up to 82 feet (25m) in diameter. The perimeter of the mound was marked with kerbstone. It held a rectangular chamber built of stone slabs or coursed rubble stone, or a combination of the two. The chamber roof was made of stone slabs, called capstones. Access to the chamber was through an opening in the mound's kerb or outer edge.<ref name="Historic England Brane">{{cite web |title=Entrance grave 290m south west of Brane End Farm |url=https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1006677 |website=Historic England |accessdate=5 July 2020}}</ref>
Brane barrow was first discovered by William Borlase in 1863 while he was exploring an underground structure, probably Carn Euny, a short distance away. Borlase refers to the structure as the barrow near Chapel Euny, because of its location near the village of Chapel Euny. The farmer who owned the site told Borlase that he did not destroy the barrow because it was provided a good shelter for sheep and pigs.<ref name="Borlase">{{cite book |last1=Borlase |first1=William Copeland |title=Naenia Cornubiae: A Descriptive Essay of the Sepulchres and Funereal Customs of the Early Inhabitants of Early Cornwall |date=1872 |publisher=Longmans, Green, Reader, and Dyer |pages=75–77}}</ref>
==Description== thumb|left|Drawing of barrow by William Borlase, 1872 Brane Barrow is a scheduled burial monument located 317 yards (290m) south west of Brane End Farm, and 1.2 miles (2 km) southwest of the village of Sancreed, in Cornwall.<ref name="Megalithics.com">{{cite web |title=Brane |url=http://www.megalithics.com/england/brane/brnemain.htm |website=Megalithics.com |accessdate=5 July 2020}}</ref> The monument includes an entrance grave, situated in a low-lying pasture close to the upper Lamorna River.<ref>{{cite book|last=Pevsner|first=Nikolaus|title=Cornwall (The Buildings of England)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UM0-sA-XijcC&dq=Brane+megalithic+hut&pg=PA207|year=1977|publisher=Pevsner Architectural Guides|isbn=0140710019|page=207}}</ref>
The barrow is a circular mound of earth and stones, measuring up to 20 feet (6.1 m) in diameter. The mound is surrounded and retained by a border of large granite blocks. It contains a rectangular stone-lined chamber measuring 7.5 ft (2.3 m) long by 4 ft (1.2 m) wide and 3 ft (90 cm) high. The chamber is roofed with two capstones: a third capstone was removed at some point. On the southeast is an entrance passage that leads directly into the chamber. <ref name="Historic England Brane" /><ref name="Neolithic Britain">{{cite book |last1=Castleden |first1=Rodney |title=Neolithic Britain: New Stone Age sites of England, Scotland and Wales |date=24 October 2014 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1138812703 |pages=30–31}}</ref> It is unusual that the mound was constructed to just barely cover the chamber. The mound is damaged on the south side where the earth has been removed to expose the chamber.<ref name="pastscape">[https://archive.today/20130616114212/http://www.pastscape.org.uk/hob.aspx?hob_id=422523 HUT BARROW], Pastscape, retrieved 21 May 2013</ref> The burial monument can be visited with permission at Brane farm.<ref name="Cope1998">{{cite book|author=Julian Cope|title=The Modern Antiquarian: A Pre-millennial Odyssey Through Megalithic Britain : Including a Gazetteer to Over 300 Prehistoric Sites|year=1998|page=157|publisher=Thorsons Pub|isbn=978-0-7225-3599-8}}</ref>
==References==
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Category:Megalithic monuments in England Category:Prehistoric sites in Cornwall Category:Buildings and structures in Cornwall Category:Tourist attractions in Cornwall Category:Religion in Cornwall Category:Barrows in England Category:Buildings and structures completed in the 2nd millennium BC Category:1863 archaeological discoveries Category:Archaeological discoveries in the United Kingdom