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, give significant insights into successive
changes in the pattern of land use through time.
This cairn is a relatively well-preserved example close to the brook. Its
relationship to other monuments 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 close to the southern bank of Langcombe Brook, to
the west of a tributary stream. It consists of a mound 6m in diameter and
0.4m in height with a possible retaining kerb visible around the north side
and a cist. The cist is 1.3m in length, 0.7m in width and 0.4m in depth.
Both side stones and the western end stone are in place, the eastern end stone
and coverstone have been displaced. There are several other cairns with cists
in the Langcombe Brook valley.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
10672
Legacy System:
RSM
Sources
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
