Round cairn 38m NE of OS triangulation pillar on Manstone Rock

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Overview

Heritage Category:
Scheduled Monument
List Entry Number:
1007702
Date first listed:
07-Mar-1994
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Location

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Official list entry

Heritage Category:
Scheduled Monument
List Entry Number:
1007702
Date first listed:
07-Mar-1994

Location

The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.

District:
Shropshire (Unitary Authority)
Parish:
Ratlinghope
National Grid Reference:
SO 36786 98663

Reasons for Designation

Round cairns are prehistoric funerary monuments dating to the Bronze Age (c.2000-700 BC). They were constructed as stone mounds covering single or multiple burials. These burials may be placed within the mound in stone-lined compartments called cists. In some cases the cairn was surrounded by a ditch. Often occupying prominent locations, cairns are a major visual element in the modern landscape. They are a relatively common feature of the uplands and are the stone equivalent of the earthen round barrows of the lowlands. Their considerable variation in form and 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.

The round cairn 38m NE of the OS triangulation pillar on Manstone Rock, though small, survives well and is a good example of this monument class. It is one of a group of monuments of similar age on Stiperstones summit and, as such, contributes important information relating to the nature of land use and diversity of beliefs and social organisation practiced during the Bronze Age in this area of upland.

Details

The monument includes the remains of a small round cairn situated on the summit of Stiperstones and close to the base of Manstone Rock, a spectacular quartzite tor. The cairn is visible as a partly turf covered, circular, stony mound 5.2m in diameter and 0.4m high. Although no longer visible as a surface feature, a surrounding ditch, from which material was quarried during the construction of the monument, probably survives as a buried feature with an approximate width of 1m.

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:
19136
Legacy System:
RSM

Legal

This monument is scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 as amended as it appears to the Secretary of State to be of national importance. This entry is a copy, the original is held by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

Ordnance survey map of Round cairn 38m NE of OS triangulation pillar on Manstone Rock

Map

This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 26-Jun-2026 at 04:55:40.

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© Crown copyright [and database rights] 2026. OS AC0000815036. Use of this mapping is subject to Terms and Conditions.

End of official list entry

All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.

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