Ring cairn 77m E of Caradon Hill summit

Reasons for Designation

Bodmin Moor, the largest of the Cornish granite uplands, has long been recognised to have exceptional preservation of archaeological remains. The quality and diversity of the evidence is such that the moor has been the subject of detailed archaeological survey and hence it forms one of the best recorded upland landscapes in England. Of particular note are the extensive relict landscapes of Prehistoric, medieval and post-medieval date. Together these provide direct evidence for human exploitation of the moor from the earliest Prehistoric period onwards. The well-preserved and often visible relationship between settlement sites, field systems, ceremonial and funerary monuments as well as later industrial remains provides significant insights into successive changes in the pattern of land use through time.

Ring cairns are ritual monuments comprising a circular bank of stones surrounding a hollow central area. The bank may be kerbed on the inside, and sometimes on the outside as well, with small uprights or boulders. Excavation has revealed the presence of pits, some containing cremation burials, within the central area. In common with other cairn types on Bodmin Moor, no ditches have been recorded with ring-cairns in this area. Ring cairns are contemporary with other funerary monuments on Bodmin Moor dating to the Bronze Age (c.2000 - 750 BC). Although no precise figure is available, current evidence indicates that there are only between 250 and 500 known examples of this monument class nationally. As a relatively rare class exhibiting considerable variation in form, a substantial proportion of surviving examples are considered worthy of preservation. The ring cairn on Caradon Hill lies at the upper end of the known size-range for this monument type; it survives particularly well and has never been excavated. Its importance is enhanced by its position within a cairn group which contains a variety of different types of burial cairn, demonstrating well the diversity of burial practice during the Bronze Age.

Details

The monument comprises a large, circular, funerary ring cairn, part of a linear cairn group near the summit of Caradon Hill on SE Bodmin Moor. The cairn survives as a large circular ring, 24m external diameter, 4-5m wide and up to 1m high, comprising heaped small stones with occasional larger boulders, an arrangement typical of the cairn type termed a ring cairn. Three of the larger boulders remain as upright slabs within the cairn's N sector, forming the remains of a stone kerb within the body of the cairn. The interior of the ring cairn is almost stone-free, with no evidence for previous disturbance, and conforms in both level and slope with the external ground surface. This cairn has been surveyed on several occasions since 1907, but has never been subject to any recorded excavation. It lies near the summit of Caradon Hill, at the NE end of a linear cairn group which extends to the SW along the side of the hill's summit and contains ten recorded cairns of several types typical of the Early and Middle Bronze Age (c.2000 - 1000 BC). The modern post-and-wire fence around the transmitter station is excluded from the scheduling but the land beneath it is included.

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:

15032

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Other
Title: Ordnance Survey 6": 1 mile Map: Cornwall XXVIII NW Source Date: 1907 Author: Publisher: Surveyor:
AM 7 scheduling description and maplet for CO 541d, Consulted 3/1991
3/1991, Cornwall SMR entry for PRN 1409.04 and .12,
Consulted 3/1991, Cornwall SMR entry for PRN 1409.08,
Consulted 3/1991, Carter, A/RCHME, 1:2500 Air Photo Transcripton: SX 2770 (Consulted 3/1991),
Consulted 3/1991, Cornwall SMR entry for PRN 1409.10,

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