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A ring cairn 700m south east of Runnage Bridge, on the southern side of Soussons Down

Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places

Overview

Heritage Category:: Scheduled Monument
List Entry Number:: 1018789
Date first listed:: 24-Oct-1963

User submitted image — Uploaded by Sandy Gerrard This photo may not represent the current condition of the site
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Official list entry

Heritage Category:: Scheduled Monument
List Entry Number:: 1018789
Date first listed:: 24-Oct-1963
Date of most recent amendment:: 21-Jan-1999

Location

The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.

County:: Devon
District:: Teignbridge (District Authority)
Parish:: Manaton
National Park:: DARTMOOR
National Grid Reference:: SX 67511 78692

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. A ring cairn is a prehistoric ritual monument comprising a circular bank of stones up to 20m in diameter surrounding a hollow central area. The bank may be kerbed on the inside, and sometimes on the outside as well, with small uprights or laid boulders. Ring cairns are found mainly in upland areas of England and are mostly discovered and authenticated by ground level fieldwork and survey, although a few are large enough to be visible on aerial photographs. They often occur in pairs or small groups of up to four examples. Occasionally they lie within round barrow cemeteries. Ring cairns are interpreted as ritual monuments of Early and Middle Bronze Age date. The exact nature of the rituals concerned is not fully understood, but excavation has revealed pits, some containing burials and others containing charcoal and pottery, taken to indicate feasting activities associated with the burial rituals. Many areas of upland have not yet been surveyed in detail and the number of ring cairns in England is not accurately known. However, available evidence indicates a population of between 250 and 500 examples. As a relatively rare class of monument exhibiting considerable variation in form, all positively identified examples retaining significant archaeological deposits are considered worthy of preservation.

Despite partial excavation and ritual reuse, the ring cairn 700m south east of Runnage Bridge, on the southern side of Soussons Down survives well and contains archaeological information relating to the monument and the environment in which it was constructed. Its position on a ridge suggests that it is likely to have also served as a territorial marker. The cairn is very obvious from the nearby road and as a result is a popular visitor destination.

Details

The monument includes a ring cairn situated on a ridge overlooking the valleys of the East Dart and West Webburn Rivers. The cairn survives as a an 8.6m diameter ring of at least 22 edge set stones standing up to 0.85m high. In the centre of the cairn is a NNW to SSE orientated cist, with both side stones remaining visible. This cist measures at least 1.3m long by 0.5m wide and when excavated in 1903 two coils of human hair were found.

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:: 28695
Legacy System:: RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Butler, J, Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities, (1991), 20

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.