Round cairn 775m NW 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. Round cairns are funerary monuments covering single or multiple burials and dating to the Bronze Age (c.2000-700 BC). They were constructed as mounds of earth and stone rubble up to 40m in external diameter but usually considerably smaller; a kerb of edge-set stones sometimes bounds the edges of the mound. Burials were placed in small pits, or on occasion within a box-like structure of stone slabs called a cist, let into the old ground surface or dug into the body of the cairn. Round cairns can occur as isolated monuments, in small groups or in larger cemeteries. Their considerable variation in form and longevity as a monument type provides important information on the diversity of beliefs, burial practices and social organisation in the Bronze Age. They are particularly representative of their period and a substantial proportion of surviving examples are considered worthy of preservation.

This round cairn on the Langstone Downs has survived well with only limited disturbance by recent stone-robbers. It has not been archaeologically excavated and will retain many of its original features including funerary deposits. It has an unusual lower-slope situation though its crest-top setting is more typical and its proximity to a large, broadly contemporary field system demonstrates well the pattern of land use during the Bronze Age.

Details

The monument comprises a round funerary cairn situated near an extensive Prehistoric field system on the Langstone Downs on eastern Bodmin Moor. The cairn survives as a circular mound, 12m in diameter and 1.5m high. It is formed of heaped rubble and is largely turf-covered. The cairn is situated on the edge of a slight natural crest in the lower hillslope of the Downs, so accentuating its height when seen from the broadly contemporary settlement sites below. Small-scale stone-robbing disturbance is evident from a turf-covered hollow, 1.75m diameter and 0.4m deep, in the top 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:

15087

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Sharpe, A, The Minions Area Archaeological Survey and Management (Volume 2), (1989)
Sharpe, A, The Minions Area Archaeological Survey and Management (Volume 2), (1989)

Other
consulted 7/1991, Carter, A./RCHME, AP transcriptions, SX 2473 & SX 2573,
consulted 7/1991, Cornwall SMR entry for PRN 1263,
consulted 7/1991, Cornwall SMR entry for PRN 1413,
consulted 7.1991, Cornwall SMR entries for PRN 1264, 1398, 1413 & 1434,

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