Ring cairn 140m north east of Cawsand Beacon forming part of a cairn cemetery on the summit of Cawsand Hill

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. A ring cairn is a prehistoric ritual monument comprising a circular bank of stones up to 20m in diameter surrounding a hollow central area. The bank may be kerbed on the inside, and sometimes on the outside as well, with small uprights or laid boulders. Ring cairns are found mainly in upland areas of England and are mostly discovered and authenticated by ground level fieldwork and survey, although a few are large enough to be visible on aerial photographs. They often occur in pairs or small groups of up to four examples. Occasionally they lie within round barrow cemeteries. Ring cairns are interpreted as ritual monuments of Early and Middle Bronze Age date. The exact nature of the rituals concerned is not fully understood, but excavation has revealed pits, some containing burials and others containing charcoal and pottery, taken to indicate feasting activities associated with the burial rituals. Many areas of upland have not yet been surveyed in detail and the number of ring cairns in England is not accurately known. However, available evidence indicates a population of between 250 and 500 examples. As a relatively rare class of monument exhibiting considerable variation in form, all positively identified examples retaining significant archaeological deposits are considered worthy of preservation.

The ring cairn 140m north east of Cawsand Beacon survives well and contains archaeological and environmental information relating to the monument and the landscape in which it was erected. This cairn forms part of the Cawsand Hill cairn cemetery, which includes at least two round cairns, two ring cairns and a platform cairn.

Details

This monument includes a ring cairn and cist situated on the summit ridge of Cawsand or Cosdon Hill. The cairn forms part of a cemetery including at least two round cairns, two ring cairns and one platform cairn. The earthwork survives as a 2m wide and 0.4m high rubble bank, faced with close set stones around its outer edge, surrounding a circular internal area measuring 18m east to west by 17m north to south. A mound measuring 6m in diameter and 0.2m high stands in the centre of the area enclosed by the circular bank and contains a stone cist with two slabs surviving. This cist was visited and described by Rowe in the first half of the 19th century and at this time it included an eight feet square structure apparently exhibiting traces of an inner coffin. A further ring cairn, two round cairns and a platform cairn also lie on the summit ridge of Cawsand Hill.

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:

24145

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Rowe, S, A Perambulation of the Ancient and Royal Forest of Dartmoor, (), 86
Butler, J, Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities - The North in Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities, Vol. 2, (1990), 206
Turner, J R, Devon Archaeological Society Proceedings in Ring Cairns, Stone Circles and Related Monuments on Dartmoor, Vol. 48, (1990), 71

Other
MPP fieldwork by S. Gerrard,
Devon County Sites and Monuments Register, SX69SW24, (1993)

End of official list entry

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