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.
Despite some disturbance, this cairn is a well-preserved example on the
hillside, in close association with a cist and retaining circle. Its
relationship with other monuments of the same type and other ceremonial
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 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, south-east of Lower Piles, is a mound 9 m. in diameter with a
retaining kerb of seven stones, giving a total diameter of 13 m.. It is 0.5 m
high and has been disturbed in the centre.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
10524
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
