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.
This cairn with a cist occupies a prominent position on the valley slope. Its
relationship to other cairns indicates the wealth of evidence relating to the
ritual side of Prehistoric life on this part of the Moor.
Details
Many examples of Prehistoric funerary monuments are preserved on Dartmoor,
mostly dating to the Bronze Age (c.2500-500 BC). To celebrate or commemorate
the dead, mounds of earth or stone were piled in a roughly hemispherical
shape over the burial, which was sometimes contained in a small rectangular
structure, or cist, made of stone slabs. Some monuments also include
kerbstones marking the outer edge of the mound and a surrounding ditch.
This cairn with a cist lies on a north-west facing slope south of
Shavercombe Brook and south-east of Shavercombe Tor. It consists of a mound
4.5m in diameter and 0.6m in height with three stones of a retaining kerb
around its west side, which are up to 1m in width and 0.6m in height. Three
slabs of the cist remain giving dimensions of 0.9m in length, 0.5m in width
and 0.8m in depth. The slabs of the cist were repositioned during excavation
in 1900. There are several other cairns in the immediate vicinity.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
10653
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
