Platform cairn 370m south east of Challacombe Cross

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. Platform cairns are funerary monuments covering single or multiple burials and dating to the Early Bronze Age (c.2000-1600 BC). They were constructed as low flat-topped mounds of stone rubble up to 40m in external diameter. Some examples have other features, including peripheral banks and internal mounds, constructed on this platform. A kerb of edge-set stones sometimes bounds the edges of the platform, bank or mound, or all three. Platform cairns occur as isolated monuments, in small groups, or in cairn cemeteries. In the latter instances they are normally found alongside cairns of other types. Although no precise figure is available, current evidence indicates that there are under 250 known examples of this monument class nationally. As a rare monument type exhibiting considerable variation in form, a substantial proportion of surviving examples are considered worthy of preservation.

Despite historic damage caused by burrowing animals, the platform cairn 370m south east of Challacombe Cross survives well and contains archaeological and environmental information relating to this area during the prehistoric period. This monument lies within a coaxial field system and forms part of a well- preserved palimpsest on Shapley Common containing abundant evidence for the use of the area in both prehistoric and historic times. This cairn is one of a cluster of large cairns situtated in a prominent position within this part of Dartmoor. It is considered that as a group they formed significant territorial markers.

Details

The monument includes a platform cairn situated on the gentle north facing slope of a prominent ridge overlooking the valley of the Green Combe on Shapley Common. The cairn forms part of a discrete cluster of mounds situated along this prominent ridge. This cairn includes a 12m diameter circular platform standing 0.2m high, in the centre of which stands an 8m diameter mound measuring up to 0.8m high.

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:

34430

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Butler, J, Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities, (1991), 111

End of official list entry

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