The southernmost of four cairns forming part of the cairnfield on the western slope of White Hill

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, 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. Cairnfields are concentrations of three or more cairns sited within close proximity to one another; they may consist of burial cairns or cairns built with stone cleared from the land surface (clearance cairns). Round funerary cairns were constructed during the Bronze Age (c.2000-700 BC) and consisted of earthen or rubble mounds, sometimes ditched, which covered single or multiple burials. Often occupying prominent locations, they are a major visual element in the modern landscape. The considerable variation in the size of cairnfields and their longevity as a monument type provide important information on the diversity of beliefs and social organisation amongst early prehistoric communities. They are particularly representative of their period and a substantial proportion of surviving examples are considered worthy of protection.

Despite evidence for partial excavation of some of the cairns, the cairnfield on the western slope of White Hill, to which this cairn belongs, survives well and contains archaeological and environmental evidence relating to the monument and the landscape in which it was constructed. The lynchet and the field defined by the clearance cairns provide a valuable insight into Bronze Age agricultural activity.

Details

This monument includes a cairn situated on a gentle west facing slope overlooking Lydford village. The cairn mound is ovoid in shape, is orientated east to west and measures 3.8m long, 3m wide and stands up to 0.2m high. This cairn forms part of a cairnfield, including twenty-six mounds and a lynchet.

MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract. It includes a 2 metre boundary around the archaeological features, considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

20365

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Fleming, A, Devon Archaeological Society Proceedings in The Cairnfields of North-West Dartmoor, Vol. 38, (1980), 9 - 12

Other
Raymond, A, Single Monument Class Description - Cairnfields, (1987)

End of official list entry

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