Two Prehistoric clearance cairns 895m north-west of Wardbrook Farm

Reasons for Designation

Bodmin Moor, the largest of the Cornish granite uplands, has long been recognised to have exceptional preservation of archaeological remains. The Moor has been the subject of detailed archaeological survey and is one of the best recorded upland landscapes in England. The extensive relict landscapes of prehistoric, medieval and post-medieval date provide direct evidence for human exploitation of the Moor from the earliest prehistoric period onwards. The well-preserved and often visible relationship between settlement sites, field systems, ceremonial and funerary monuments as well as later industrial remains provides significant insights into successive changes in the pattern of land use through time. Stone alignments or stone rows consist of upright stones set in a single line, or in two or more parallel lines, up to several hundred metres in length. They are often sited close to prehistoric burial monuments, such as small cairns and cists, and to ritual monuments, such as stone circles, and are therefore considered to have had an important ceremonial function. The seven stone alignments known on Bodmin Moor date from the Late Neolithic to Early Bronze Age periods (c.2400-1600 BC) and provide rare evidence of ceremonial and ritual practices on the Moor during these periods. Due to their rarity and longevity as a monument type, all examples that are not extensively damaged will be considered nationally important.

These two cairns have survived well with no evident or recorded disturbance. The close proximity of the cairnfield containing these cairns to extensive Prehistoric field systems, settlement sites and other groups of cairns and its integration with them indicates their broad contemporaneity, demonstrating well the nature of agricultural practices and organisation of land use during the Bronze Age.

Details

The monument includes two large Prehistoric clearance cairns, part of a dispersed cairnfield of ten similar cairns including a small funerary round cairn, situated near extensive Prehistoric field systems, linear boundaries, hut circles and cairns on the lower western slope of the Langstone Downs on SE Bodmin Moor. The two cairns are centred 15m apart on a north-south axis. Each survives with a slightly ovoid mound of well consolidated heaped rubble, largely turf-covered with few exposures of the stone content. The northern cairn in this monument measures 6m north-south by 4m east-west and rises 0.5m high. The southern cairn measures 6m north-south by 5m east-west and also rises 0.5m high. The east-west profile of these mounds is asymmetrical, in each case the highest point is reached towards the western side. The two cairns included in this monument are situated at the eastern side of the larger dispersed group of cairns which is arranged in a horseshoe-shaped curve encompassing 0.75 hectare of gently sloping stone-free land. A large circular cairn at the northern end of the group, beyond the area of this monument, is of sufficient size and form to suggest a funerary function. Prehistoric field boundaries and cleared plots, incorporating other clearance cairns, extend to within 25m of this group on its SE, east and north sides.

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:

15124

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Bradley, R, The Prehistoric Settlement of Britain, (1978)
Trahair, J E R, Cornish Archaeology in A survey of cairns on Bodmin Moor, Vol. 17, (1978)

Other
Qualification consulted 9/1991, Cornwall SMR entry for PRN 1264,
consulted 9/1991, Carter, A./RCHME, 1:2500 AP transcriptions for SX 2473 SX 2474 SX 2573,
consulted 9/1991, Cornwall SMR entries for PRN 1398 (NW edge);1274 (SE edge);1287,

End of official list entry

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