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.
Stone alignments provide rare evidence of ceremonial or ritual practices on
the Moor during the Late Neolithic and Bronze Age. Although affected by some
robbing, the Ringmoor Down alignment remains an important example.
Details
Stone alignments or stone rows consist of upright stones set in a single
line or in two or more parallel lines, up to several hundred metres in
length. They frequently lead to burial monuments such as small cairns, cists
and barrows and are therefore thought to have had a ceremonial function. The
70 or so examples known on Dartmoor were probably constructed in the Late
Neolithic period (around 2,500BC).
The Ringmoor Down alignment has a double row of stones 337m in length
orientated north-east/south-west, with a cairn and retaining kerb at the
south-western end and an orthostat 1.10m in height at the northern end. It
runs close to the 290m contour and has twenty- seven standing stones ranging
from 0.15m to 1.25m in height. Robbing has reduced the number of stones,
but opposing pairs are on average 1.4m apart. The cairn is 7m in diameter
and 0.4m in height and is surrounded by a retaining kerb 12.9m in diameter.
The retaining kerb was restored by Baring-Gould in 1909. Prior to this, one
stone remained standing and four were fallen, while sockets for a further
six were recorded. There are now ten standing stones, the original one is
0.7m in height, the restored and imported stones stand up to 0.9m in height.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
10596
Legacy System:
RSM
End of official list entry
