Part of Eylesbarrow watershed reave
List Entry Summary
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.
Name: Part of Eylesbarrow watershed reave
List entry Number: 1010669
Location
The monument may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
County: Devon
District: West Devon
District Type: District Authority
Parish: Sheepstor
National Park: DARTMOOR
Grade: Not applicable to this List entry.
Date first scheduled: 24-Feb-1992
Date of most recent amendment: Not applicable to this List entry.
Legacy System Information
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System: RSM
UID: 10741
Asset Groupings
This list entry does not comprise part of an Asset Grouping. Asset Groupings are not part of the official record but are added later for information.
List entry Description
Summary of Monument
Legacy Record - This information may be included in the List Entry Details.
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 provides 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.
Elaborate complexes of fields and field boundaries are some of the major
features of the Dartmoor landscape. The reaves are part of an extensive
system of prehistoric land division introduced during the Bronze Age, around
1700BC. They consist of simple linear stone banks used to mark out discrete
territories, some of which are tens of kilometres in extent. The systems are
defined by parallel, contour and watershed reaves, dividing the lower land
from the grazing zones of the higher moor and defining the watersheds of
adjacent river systems. Occupation sites and funerary or ceremonial
monuments are often incorporated in, or associated with, reave complexes.
Their longevity and their relationship with other monument types provides
important information on the diversity of social organisation, land divisions
and farming practices amongst prehistoric communities. They show considerable
longevity as a monument type, sometimes surviving as fossilised examples in
medieval field plans. They are an important element in the existing landscape
and, as such, a substantial proportion of surviving examples are considered
worthy of protection.
Eylesbarrow watershed reave is a major component of the reave system on
south-western Dartmoor.
History
Legacy Record - This information may be included in the List Entry Details.
Details
Eylesbarrow watershed reave can be traced from Cadworthy Wood to Eylesbarrow,
a distance of some 7.5km, separating the watershed of the River Plym from that
of the River Meavy. This section of the reave runs down the slope of
Eylesbarrow for some 130m and consists of a bank of earth and stone up to 5m
in width and 0.75m in height. It is separated from further sections on either
side by gaps in which it is not traceable.
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.
Selected Sources
Books and journals
Fleming, A, The Dartmoor Reaves, (1988)
Other
SX56NE-278, SX56NE-278, (1990)
National Grid Reference: SX 59478 68496
Map
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This copy shows the entry on 24-Apr-2018 at 10:06:00.
End of official listing