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,
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.
Tor cairns are ceremonial monuments dating to the Early and Middle Bronze Age
(c.2000-1000 BC). They were constructed as ring banks of stone rubble, up to
35m in external diameter, sometimes with entrances and external ditches, and
roughly concentric around natural outcrops or tors. In some cases a kerb of
edge-set stones bounded the inner edge of the bank, and the area between the
bank and the outcrop was sometimes in-filled by laying down a platform of
stone rubble or turves. Excavated examples have revealed post-holes and pits
within the area defined by the ring-bank, some containing burial evidence, and
scatters of Bronze Age artefacts concentrated around the central tor. Tor
cairns usually occur as isolated monuments, though several are associated with
broadly contemporary cairn cemeteries. They are very rare nationally with only
40-50 known examples concentrated on the higher moors of Devon and Cornwall,
where their situation in prominent locations makes them a major visual element
in the modern landscape. As a rare monument type, all surviving examples are
considered worthy of preservation.
Details
This monument includes a tor cairn and a length of boundary bank situated on a
rocky terrace on the southern slope of Cox Tor. The cairn includes two banks
of small to medium sized stones surrounding an 11m diameter rock outcrop. The
first bank surrounds the base of the outcrop and measures 4m wide and
0.4m high. The outer bank measures 1.4m wide and stands up to 0.2m high. The
two banks are separated by a 1.5m wide relatively stone-free area. The overall
diameter of the cairn is therefore 24.8m.
A rubble bank measuring 15m long, 1.2m wide and 0.4m high leads from the cairn
eastward. This bank is probably contemporary with the cairn, and may
represent part of a funerary enclosure.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
22237
Legacy System:
RSM
Sources
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
