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.
Sharp Tor cairn is a well-preserved example, with waterlogging potential and
occupies a prominent position on the brow of the tor. It continues the series
of large, probably high status, cairns of similar construction on hilltops
along the eastern side of the Erme Valley. Its relationship to other
monuments of the same type indicates the wealth of evidence relating to the
spiritual 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 surrounding ditch.
This large cairn close to the summit of Sharp Tor is 25m in diameter
and approximately 1.8m. high. It is built of stones on an earth and stone
base the circumference of which projects beyond the stones. Rushes and other
vegetation suggest the presence of a ditch around the mound.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
10538
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
