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, 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 is a well-preserved example and occupies a prominent position at
the top of the valley slope linking the Ugborough Beacon cairn group with
the Butterdon Hill/Spurrell's Cross ceremonial monument complexes. Its
relationship to other monuments of several types 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 is situated on Beacon Plain, north-west of Ugborough Beacon and
at the top of the southern slope of the Scad Brook valley. It lies 50m west
of another cairn and is built of stone and earth, now turf-covered and is
13m in diameter and 0.7m high. A ditch and retaining kerb can be traced
around the mound, the centre of which is hollow, suggesting that it has been
disturbed in the past.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
10543
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
