Prehistoric clearance cairn 962m 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.

This cairn has survived well, with no evident or recorded disturbance. The integration of the cairnfield containing this cairn with an extensive Prehistoric field system and linear boundaries indicates their broad contemporaneity, demonstrating well the nature of agricultural practices and organisation of land use during the Bronze Age.

Details

The monument includes a large Prehistoric clearance cairn situated near a broadly contemporary field system and linear boundaries on the western slope of the Langstone Downs on SE Bodmin Moor. The cairn survives as a turf-covered ovoid mound of heaped rubble measuring 4m ENE-WSW by 3m NNW-SSE and up to 0.75m high. It is one of at least seventeen similarly large cairns forming a dispersed cairnfield among and adjoining the cleared plots of a Prehistoric field system. This cairn is situated close to two major linear boundaries which subdivide the field system, passing 32m to the NE and 45m to the south of the cairn.

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:

15136

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Other
Qualification consulted 9/1991, Cornwall SMR entry for PRN 1264,
consulted 1993, Cornwall SMR entries: PRN 1263 & 1274 (part),
consulted 9/1991, Carter, A./RCHME, 1:2500 AP transcriptions for SX 2473 & SX 2474,

End of official list entry

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