Cairn 270m west of Tibbett's Lookout, Lundy

Reasons for Designation

Lundy is a small, steep sided island in the Bristol Channel, 16m north of Hartland Point, north Devon. Aligned north-south, it is 6km long by 1km wide and supports a predominately moorland vegetation. The 100m high cliffs and tabular form give it a striking appearance, visible in clear weather from parts of south west England and south Wales. Lundy's remoteness and (until the 19th century construction of the Beach Road) its inaccessibility, combined with a lack of shelter and cultivable soils, has meant that it has escaped more recent occupation or development. It therefore preserves a remarkable variety of archaeological sites from early prehistory (c.8000 BC) onwards, representing evidence for habitation, fortification, farming and industry. There are also archaeological remains in the waters surrounding the island - over 150 shipwrecks are already recorded. Most of the island's archaeology is well documented from detailed survey in the 1980s and 1990s. Cairns are funerary monuments found typically on the upland moors of south west England, northern Britain and Wales. They generally have mounds of earth and small stones covering one or more burials which associated artefacts have identified as being of Bronze Age date (2000-700 BC). Cairns are often conspicuously sited and may be found close to other contemporary monument classes, such as standing stones. The cairns on Lundy together constitute an especially important group. They survive in a landscape which has been little altered since prehistoric times and they can therefore be clearly seen and understood in terms of the topographic setting in which they were built.

The cairn 270m west of Tibbett's Lookout is large in comparison with other examples on Lundy. Despite having been partly excavated in antiquity the cairn will provide information on the construction and burial practices of the builders as well as of the environmental conditions prevalent at the time.

Details

The monument includes a cairn located 270m west of Tibbett's Lookout. The cairn measures 13.5m in diameter and 0.3m high. Some stones are exposed but the bulk of the construction is under a cover of vegatation. A depression in the centre of the mound may indicate an antiquarian excavation, although no records survive.

MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract. It includes a 2 metre boundary around the archaeological features, considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

27637

Legacy System:

RSM

End of official list entry

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