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 is a
well-preserved example and occupies a prominent position in a group of
cairns on the brow of Piles Hill. Its relationship with these and other
cairns and stone alignments in the area, 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 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 lies north of two other larger cairns on the top of Piles Hill, it is
10 m. in diameter and 0.3 m. in height and grass-covered; it shows no
evidence of having been dug into and has a flattish top. The cairn is about
40 m. south of the stone alignment which runs up the eastern slope of Piles
Hill from the West Glaze Brook Valley.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
10561
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
