Cross Dyke reave

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 succesive 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. They have important implications for studying Prehistoric land divisions and communal systems of land-holding, not just in this region, but also nationally. The Cross Dyke reave survives comparatively well in close association with Hanging Stone and a cairn at its north end. This is one of numerous contemporary monuments surviving in the area.

Details

The Dartmoor reaves are part of a highly elaborate and extensive system of Prehistoric land division, introduced some time around 1700 BC. The reaves consist of simple linear stone and earth banks used to mark out discrete territories, some of which are tens of kilometers in area. The systems are defined by parallel, contour and watershed reaves, dividing the lower land from the grazing zones of the higher moor. Cross Dyke runs for some 600m up the southern slope of Lee Moor towards Cholwich Town Reave North, a major contour reave. It is a bank of earth and some stone, up to 2m in width and 0.5m in height, with a ditch on its eastern side. It is closely associated with a standing stone, known as Hanging Stone, and terminates at a cairn at its northern end. Cross Dyke is part of a parallel reave system and is considered to have had a territorial role, dividing the Cholwich Town reave territory from that of the Plym Valley.

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:

10611

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Fleming, A, Collis, J, Devon Archaeological Society Proceedings in A Late Prehistoric Reave System Near Cholwich Town, Dartmoor, Vol. 31, (1973), 5

Other
Devon County SMR SX56SE-075,
Devon County SMR SX56SE-21,
Devon County SMR SX56SE-226,

End of official list entry

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