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 on Weatherdon Hill is a well-preserved example and occupies a
prominent position on the brow of the hill, forming part of a series of
large, probably high status, cairns of similar construction on hilltops along
the eastern side of the Erme Valley. Its relationship to other cairns
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.2500-500 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 large cairn on Weatherdon Hill consists of a mound of loosely
packed stones on a base of stone and earth, the circumference of which
projects beyond the stones; it is 20m. in diameter and 1.6m. high and has an
outer ditch. It is the westernmost of a series of similar cairns which lie
along the ridge from Butterdon Hill to Weatherdon Hill.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
10533
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
