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.
This cairn is a well-preserved example and occupies a hillside position in
an area of concentrated settlement. Its relationship to other monuments of
the same type also indicates the wealth of evidence relating to the ritual
side of Prehistoric life on this part of the Moor.
Details
Many examples of Prehistoric funerary monuments are preserved on Dartmoor,
mostly dating to the Bronze Age (c.2500-500 BC). To celebrate or commemorate
the dead, mounds of earth or stone were piled in a roughly hemispherical
shape over the burial, which was sometimes contained in a small rectangular
structure, or cist, made of stone slabs. Some monuments also include
kerbstones marking the outer edge of the mound and a surrounding ditch.
This cairn, in the north-east corner of Lower Piles, is 10 m. in diameter and
1 metre high. It is built of earth and stone and is turf-covered, with a
central hollow.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
10526
Legacy System:
RSM
End of official list entry
