A 350m length of reave on Hingston Hill, 470m NNW of Combshead Tor

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. 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 (c.2000-700 BC). 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 provide 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.

The 350m length of reave on Hingston Hill, 470m NNW of Combshead Tor survives well and forms an integral part of a landscape containing both ritual and domestic monuments. Information concerning the manner in which land was allocated different uses during the Bronze Age may survive within this feature.

Details

This monument includes a 350m length of reave traversing the summit of Hingston Hill. The reave survives as a 2m wide rubble bank standing up to 0.5m high which separates a group of ritual monuments from broadly contemporary settlements and field systems, most of which are the subject of separate schedulings. The northern part of the reave is orientated NNE to SSW and turns to a north west to south east alignment along its southern length. The purpose of this reave appears to have been to denote a boundary between a rich ritual area containing at least three cairns, a stone alignment and associated enclosure, from a large enclosed settlement, its fields and upland grazing.

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:

24082

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Other
Devon County Sites and Monuments Register, SX56NE492, (1986)
National Archaeological Record, SX56NE171,
MPP fieldwork by S. Gerrard,

End of official list entry

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