Reasons for Designation
Bodmin Moor, the largest of the Cornish granite uplands, has long been
recognised to have exceptional preservation of archaeological remains. The
Moor has been the subject of detailed archaeological survey and is one of the
best recorded upland landscapes in England. The extensive relict landscapes of
prehistoric, medieval and post-medieval date 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. Round cairns are funerary monuments covering single or
multiple burials and dating to the Bronze Age (c.2000-700 BC). They were
constructed as mounds of earth and stone rubble up to 40m in external diameter
but usually considerably smaller; a kerb of edge-set stones sometimes bounds
the edges of the mound. Burials were placed in small pits, or on occasion
within a box-like structure of stone slabs called a cist, let into the old
ground surface or dug into the body of the cairn. Round cairns can occur as
isolated monuments, in small groups or in larger cemeteries. Their
considerable variation in form and longevity as a monument type provides
important information on the diversity of beliefs, burial practices and social
organisation in the Bronze Age. They are particularly representative of their
period and a substantial proportion of surviving examples are considered
worthy of preservation.
Details
The monument includes a slightly ovoid Prehistoric round cairn situated near
the southern edge of a major concentration of Bronze Age funerary and ritual
monuments and close to a broadly contemporary settlement site and field system
on the southern part of Craddock Moor on SE Bodmin Moor.
The round cairn is visible as a near-circular mound of heaped rubble, up to
0.7m high and measuring 6m NW-SE by 5.2m NE-SW. The largely turf-covered,
shallow-domed mound shows no irregularities from any disturbance. Beyond this
monument, another, partly excavated round cairn is situated 80m to the east,
while the intervening area contains the numerous very small cairns of a
Prehistoric cairnfield. Also beyond this monument, the boundaries of a
Prehistoric field system incorporating stone hut circles approach within 10m
north of the cairn.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
15174
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
