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.
Stone alignments provide rare evidence of ceremonial or ritual practices on
the Moor during the Late Neolithic and Bronze Age. The alignment south-east
of Western Beacon and north-west of Cantrell is particularly significant
because it is connected with a cairn and situated in an area which contains
many funerary monuments.
Details
Stone alignments or stone rows consist of upright stones set in a single
line or in two or more parallel lines, up to several hundred metres in
length. They frequently lead to burial monuments such as small cairns, cists
and barrows and are therefore thought to have had a ceremonial function. The
70 or so examples known on Dartmoor were probably constructed in the Late
Neolithic period (around 2500 BC)
This double stone alignment, to the south-east of Western Beacon and north-
west of Cantrell, is approximately 43 m. long, it is orientated north-east/
south-west, ending at a cairn at the northern end and truncated at the south
by the line of a former railway. There are 12 stones up to 0.75 m. high in
the southern row and 6 up to 0.4 m. high in the northern row. The rows are
on average 2 m. apart and the stones lie at 1 to 4 m. spacings with several
gaps in the sequence. The cairn is 7 m. in diameter and 0.3 m. high, with a
hollow in the centre suggesting that it has been robbed in the past.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
10550
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
