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. Standing stones are single, sometimes
large, upright stones which often occur in isolation from other monuments.
Their date and significance are uncertain, but their distribution in western
and northern Britain has been linked to the principal routes from the lowlands
to the uplands and they have been interpreted as markers for a system of
farming involving the movement of animals from lowland to upland pastures at
certain seasons of the year. As such they provide an important insight into
farming practices on the Moor in the past. The exact number extant in England
is not known but is probably less than 250. The recorded examples on Dartmoor
form an important subgroup of the total population, and in consequence most
are considered to be of national importance.
Details
This monument includes a standing stone situated 150m south east of Little
Hound Tor stone circle and which lies on a gentle east facing slope
overlooking Raybarrow Pool. The stone lies at the junction of three parishes
and has been utilised as a boundary stone. The stone is a wide undressed flat
granite slab measuring 1.7m high, 0.8m wide and about 0.45m thick on the north
west side and 0.2m thick at the south east side. It is set facing SSW to NNE
and leans to the north west. Inscriptions, relating to its use as a boundary
stone, have been cut onto three separate faces. On the south west face the
letters DC appear above the letters TP; the upper letters refer to the Duchy
of Cornwall and indicates the use of this stone as a Dartmoor Forest boundary,
whilst the lower letters probably refer to Throwleigh parish. On the narrow
south east face, and on the broad north east face, the letter T appears. These
letters may refer to Throwleigh and South Tawton parishes. This stone is
considered to be either a standing stone associated with the nearby stone
circle, and later adopted as a boundary stone, or it may be a stone taken from
the nearby circle and moved to its present position to act as a boundary
stone. The former explanation is the more likely since a rather awkward detour
is made to include the stone within the boundary and the stone is
substantially larger than the remaining examples within the stone circle.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
24135
Legacy System:
RSM
Sources
Books and journals Other
Legal
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.
End of official list entry
