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.
Details
The monument includes a cairn and cist situated on a south facing slope
overlooking the valley of the Cherry Brook. The cairn survives as three
concentric rings of edge set slabs surrounding a central cist. The inner
ring includes at least eight large orthostats standing up to 1m high
surrounding a 3.5m diameter internal area. The middle ring is 0.6m to 0.8m
beyond the first and includes at least five edge set orthostats. The outer
ring is about 1.2m from the middle one and includes a number of stones
protruding through the turf forming an 8.6m diameter circle. The central
cist survives as a rectangular pit denoted on three sides by edge set
slabs. The cist is orientated NNW-SSE and measures 0.9m long by 0.56m wide
and up to 0.9m deep.
The northern part of the cairn is overlain by an historic boundary bank
measuring 1.3m wide and up to 0.95m high. On the northern side of this
bank is the ditch from which material was quarried during its
construction.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
34486
Legacy System:
RSM
Sources
Other
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.
End of official list entry
