Two round cairns on Dunkery Hill, 390m and 420m south east of Rex Stile Head

Reasons for Designation

Exmoor is the most easterly of the three main upland areas in the south western peninsula of England. In contrast to the other two areas, Dartmoor and Bodmin Moor, there has been no history of antiquarian research and little excavation of Exmoor monuments. However, survey work has confirmed a comparable richness of archaeological remains, with evidence of human exploitation and occupation from the Mesolithic period to the present day. Many of the field monuments surviving on Exmoor date from the later prehistoric period, examples including stone settings, stone alignments, standing stones, and burial mounds (barrows or cairns). Round cairns are funerary monuments dating from the Late Neolithic period to the Late Bronze Age, with most examples belonging to the period 2400-1500BC. They were constructed as rubble mounds which covered single or multiple burials. They occur either in isolation or grouped as cemeteries, and often acted as a focus for burials in later periods. Over 370 barrows or cairns, varying in diameter from 2m to 35m, have been recorded on Exmoor, with many of these found on or close to the summits of the three east-west ridges which cross the moor - the southern escarpment, the central ridge, and the northern ridge. Individual cairns and groups may also be found on lower lying ground and hillslopes. Those which occupy prominent locations form a major visual element in the modern landscape. Their longevity as a monument type can 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.



Despite some surface disturbance to the mound of the easternmost cairn the two round cairns located 390m and 420m south east of Rex Stile Head survive comparatively well and will contain archaeological deposits and environmental evidence relating both to the cairns and the wider landscape in which they were constructed. The cairns form satellite cairns associated with a major round cairn cemetery (a group of cairns sited in close proximity to one another) which includes the prominent Joaney How and Robin How cairns. Together these cairns form a visual element in the open moorland, being located close to a well-used footpath.

Details

The monument, which lies in two separate areas of protection, includes two prehistoric round cairns situated in open moorland on a natural terrace located on a south and east facing slope of Dunkery Hill. The cairns are outlying members of a round cairn cemetery, the centre of which is located approximately 450m to the north on a level plateau on the eastern side of Dunkery Hill,and forms the subject of separate schedulings. Each cairn has a near-circular earth and stone mound. The mound of the easternmost cairn is 11m in diameter and 0.4m high; the mound of the cairn, located approximately 80m to the south west, is 9m in diameter and is 0.5m 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:

35587

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Grinsell, L V, Proceedings of Somerset Archaelogical & Natural History Society in Somerset Barrows, (1969), 43
Grinsell, L V, Proceedings of Somerset Archaelogical & Natural History Society in Somerset Barrows, (1969), 43

Other
SS 94 SW 15, National Monuments Record,

End of official list entry

All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.