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Round cairn and cist on Black Down 1.6km east of Higher Bowden

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

Overview

Heritage Category:: Scheduled Monument
List Entry Number:: 1019227
Date first listed:: 09-Feb-2001

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Official list entry

Heritage Category:: Scheduled Monument
List Entry Number:: 1019227
Date first listed:: 09-Feb-2001

Location

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

County:: Devon
District:: West Devon (District Authority)
Parish:: Okehampton Hamlets
National Park:: DARTMOOR
National Grid Reference:: SX 57376 91533

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. Round cairns are prehistoric funerary monuments dating to the Bronze Age (c.2000-700 BC). They were constructed as earthen or rubble mounds, the latter predominating in areas of upland Britain where such raw materials were locally available in abundance. Round cairns may cover single or multiple burials and are sometimes surrounded by an outer ditch. Often occupying prominent locations, they are a major visual element in the modern landscape. Their considerable variation in form and longevity as a monument type provide important information on the diversity of beliefs and social organisation amongst early prehistoric communities. They are particularly representative of their period and a substantial proportion of surviving examples are considered worthy of protection. Dartmoor provides one of the best preserved and most dense concentrations of round cairns in south- western Britain.

Despite some disturbance, the round cairn and cist on Black Down 1.6km east of Higher Bowden survive comparatively well and contain important archaeological, structural and environmental information relating to the monument and the landscape in which it was built.

Details

The monument includes a round cairn containing a cist situated on a gentle west facing slope on Black Down overlooking the valley of the West Okement river. The cairn measures 6m in diameter, stands up to 0.7m high and contains a 0.9m long cist orientated NNW to SSE. The two edge slabs of the cist remain in their original position, the side stones having been removed. A pit created when the cist was damaged is filled with loose rubble. Around the north western edge of the mound are a number of edge set slabs which represent the remains of a kerb which survives elsewhere as a buried feature.

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:: 28750
Legacy System:: RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Butler, J, 'Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities - The Second Millennium B.C.' in Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities, , Vol. 5, (1997), 58

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.