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Lake Down cairnfield 810m ESE and 780m east of Lake Viaduct

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

Overview

Heritage Category:: Scheduled Monument
List Entry Number:: 1019584
Date first listed:: 19-Feb-2001

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Official list entry

Heritage Category:: Scheduled Monument
List Entry Number:: 1019584
Date first listed:: 19-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:: Sourton
National Park:: DARTMOOR
National Grid Reference:: SX 54120 88835, SX 54132 88774

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, 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. Cairnfields are concentrations of three or more cairns sited within close proximity to one another; they may consist of burial cairns or cairns built with stone cleared from the land surface (clearance cairns). Round funerary cairns were constructed during the Bronze Age (c.2000-700 BC) and consisted of earthen or rubble mounds, sometimes ditched, which covered single or multiple burials. Often occupying prominent locations, they are a major visual element in the modern landscape. The considerable variation in the size of cairnfields and their 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.

Lake Down cairnfield 810m ESE and 780m east of Lake Viaduct survives well and contains archaeological and environmental evidence relating to the monument and the landscape in which it was constructed. It provides a valuable insight into Bronze Age agricultural activity on the western side of the Moor.

Details

This monument, which falls into two areas of protection, includes 12 cairns situated on a narrow natural terrace on a steep west-facing slope overlooking west Devon. Ten of the mounds are sub-circular in shape and these range in size from 2m to 6.3m in diameter and stand between 0.4m and 1.2m high. The remaining two are ovoid in shape, and these measure 6m long, 3m wide and stand up to 0.6m high. The average height of all the mounds is 0.64m. One cairn has a shallow hollow in the centre of the mound, suggesting robbing or partial excavation. Some of the cairns may contain burials, but the group most likely represents stone clearance connected with cultivation of the area.

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:: 24052
Legacy System:: RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Butler, J, Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities, (1991), 151
Other
Devon County Sites and Monuments Register, SX58NW50,
MPP fieldwork by S. Gerrard,
MPP fieldwork by S.Gerrard,

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.