Knatta Barrow

Summary

Platform cairn called Knatta Barrow.

Reasons for Designation

Dartmoor is the largest expanse of open moorland in southern Britain and, because of exceptional conditions of preservation, it is also one of the most complete examples of an upland relict landscape in the whole country. The great wealth and diversity of archaeological remains provide direct evidence for human exploitation of the Moor from the early prehistoric period onwards. The well-preserved and often visible relationship between settlement sites, major land boundaries, trackways, ceremonial and funerary monuments as well as later industrial remains, gives significant insights into successive changes in the pattern of land use through time. Platform cairns are funerary monuments covering single or multiple burials and dating to the Early Bronze Age (c.2000-1600 BC). They were constructed as low flat-topped mounds of stone rubble up to 40m in external diameter. Some examples have other features, including peripheral banks and internal mounds, constructed on this platform. A kerb of edge-set stones sometimes bounds the edges of the platform, bank or mound, or all three. Platform cairns occur as isolated monuments, in small groups, or in cairn cemeteries. In the latter instances they are normally found alongside cairns of other types. Although no precise figure is available, current evidence indicates that there are less than 250 known examples of this monument class nationally. Despite partial early excavation and subsequent remodelling by stone moving, the platform cairn called Knatta Barrow survives comparatively well and is a rare type of monument. It will contain archaeological and environmental evidence relating to its construction, function, date, longevity, funerary and ritual practices, social organisation, territorial significance and overall landscape context.

History

See Details.

Details

This record was the subject of a minor enhancement on 18 November 2015. This record has been generated from an "old county number" (OCN) scheduling record. These are monuments that were not reviewed under the Monuments Protection Programme and are some of our oldest designation records.

This monument includes a platform cairn known as Knatta Barrow situated on the shoulder of Quickbeam Hill between Bala Brook and Middle Brook. The monument survives as a circular stony platform of up to 20m in diameter standing up to 2m high, which is surrounded by an outer stony bank measuring up to 2.5m wide and 0.7m high. The cairn has been disturbed by phases of early partial excavation or robbing, stone moving and shelter building.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

DV 1008

Legacy System:

RSM - OCN

Sources

Books and journals
Butler, J, Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities, Volume Four – The South-East , (1993), 160

Other
PastScape Monument No:-441767

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