A stone circle, known as Fernworthy Circle, three stone alignments and five cairns 425m and 525m north west of Sandeman Bridge

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 provide 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 or stone rows consist of upright stones set in single file or in avenues of two or more parallel lines, up to several hundred metres in length. They are often physically linked to burial monuments, such as small cairns, cists and barrows, and are considered to have had an important ceremonial function. The Dartmoor alignments mostly date from the Late Neolithic period (c.2400-2000 BC). Some eighty examples, most of them on the outer Moor, provide over half the recorded national population. Due to their comparative rarity and longevity as a monument type, all surviving examples are considered nationally important, unless very badly damaged.

Together the stone alignments, stone circle and cairns 425m and 525m north west of Sandeman Bridge represent one of the most complete prehistoric ritual complexes on Dartmoor, with excavation at the stone circle providing evidence for its use. Despite afforestation the monument survives well and will contain further archaeological and environmental information relating to the monument and the landscape in which it was constructed.

Details

The monument, which falls into two areas, includes a stone circle, three stone alignments and five cairns situated on a gentle east facing slope overlooking the valley of the South Teign River. The stone circle, known as Fernworthy Circle,includes 27 stones, standing up to 1.1m high, forming a 20m diameter circle. Excavation by the Dartmoor Exploration Committee revealed that the original ground surface was covered by a layer of wood charcoal. Two stone alignments lie to the south of the stone circle. The western of these includes two parallel rows of stones measuring up to 31m long and terminating in a small ring cairn. The eastern alignment is also of double row type, measures 20.5m long and its upper end is denoted by a small cairn containing a cist. Excavation of this cairn led to the recovery of large quantities of burnt bone and wood charcoal. South of this row and possibly originally forming its other end is another cairn from which a flint chip was recovered. The third alignment lies north of the stone circle and survives as a double line of stones extending towards a small cairn. The southern part of the row includes at least 49 small stones protruding through the turf, although within the northern half many survive as buried features. The final cairn within the monument lies south east of the stone circle and survives as a 6.4m diameter and 0.6m high mound surrounded by a 1.5m wide and 0.1m high bank which lies 3m from the base of the mound.

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:

28672

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Butler, J, Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities, (1991), 162-65

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