The Grey Mare and her Colts facts for kids
The Grey Mare and Her Colts Long Barrow.
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 Location in Dorset
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| Location | Dorset |
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| Coordinates | 50°40′54″N 2°35′22″W / 50.68161°N 2.58946°W |
| Type | Long barrow |
| History | |
| Periods | 3400-2400 BC |
| Official name | The Grey Mare and her Colts |
| Designated | 1922 |
| Reference no. | 450303 |
The Grey Mare and her Colts is a very old stone tomb near Abbotsbury in Dorset, England. It is a type of ancient burial place called a long barrow. People built it a very long time ago, between 3400 and 2400 BC. This time is known as the Early and Middle Neolithic periods, when farming was just starting in Britain.
Archaeologists partly dug up the tomb in the early 1800s. They found human bones and pieces of pottery inside.
Contents
What Does the Grey Mare and her Colts Look Like?
This ancient burial monument is located near the village of Abbotsbury in Dorset. It sits at the top of a dry valley, which is a valley that no longer has a river flowing through it. The monument is part of a group of similar old tombs found along the South Dorset Ridgeway.
The Grey Mare and her Colts is a long, nearly rectangular mound. It is about 24 meters (79 feet) long and 1 meter (3 feet) high. The mound is wider at one end, measuring 13 meters (43 feet) wide at the southeast end. It tapers down to 8 meters (26 feet) wide at the northwest end.
The Burial Chamber Stones
At the wider, southeast end of the mound, you can see the remains of the burial chamber. There are four huge Sarsen stones here. Sarsen stones are large, hard sandstone boulders found in southern England. Three of these stones are standing upright, and one is lying flat.
Behind the tomb, there is another large flat stone. Experts believe this stone was once the capstone. A capstone is the very top stone that covers a burial chamber. This one likely fell from the collapsed chamber.
Around the edge of the mound, you can also spot several smaller upright stones. These stones are thought to be what's left of the barrow's retaining kerb. A kerb is a border of stones that would have held the mound in place.
Nearby Ancient Sites
The Grey Mare and her Colts is not the only ancient monument in this area. The remains of another tomb, called the Hell Stone, are about 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) to the east. Also, the Kingston Russell Stone Circle is about 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) to the northwest. You can find the Grey Mare and her Colts using an Ordnance Survey map.
Who Built the Grey Mare and her Colts?
Long barrowed megalithic tombs are burial monuments built by early farming communities. These communities lived in Britain during the Early and Middle Neolithic periods (3400-2400 BC). "Megalithic" means they were built with very large stones.
These tombs are usually mounds of stone or earth. They often contain one or more burial chambers. These chambers could be lined with wood or stone. Some of these long barrows could be as long as 90 meters (295 feet)!
Over 300 chambered tombs have been found across Britain. They show us where some of Britain's first farmers buried their dead. A famous example of a chambered long barrow is West Kennet Long Barrow in Wiltshire.
The Grey Mare and her Colts burial monument was partly dug up in the early 1800s. During this excavation, archaeologists found human bones and pieces of pottery. These findings help us learn about the people who lived there long ago.
Images for kids
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The Grey Mare tomb
