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 with a cist west of Legis Lake is a well-preserved example and
occupies a prominent position on the slope down to the River Plym. Its
relationship to other cairns and stone circles and a stone alignment
indicates the wealth of evidence relating to the ritual side of 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.2500-500BC). To celebrate or commemorate
the dead, mounds of earth or stone were piled in 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 150m west of Legis Lake. It consists of a mound
0.4m in height with a retaining kerb 5m in diameter and a central cist. The
kerb contains eleven stones of which some of the larger ones have fallen.
The cist has all four slabs in place and is 1m in length by 0.5m in width
and 0.4m in depth. The cover slab is displaced and overhangs the cist, it
is 1.40m in length by 1.2m in width.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
10593
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
