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Summary

Cairn on the west side of Crownhill Down of 8.0 metres diameter by 0.6 metres high is visible on aerial photographs. The mound has been destroyed by the expansion of modern open cast mining.

Location

Protected Status: none recorded

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: 910300
• National Monuments Record: SX5659/2
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX55NE/31

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• CAIRN (Constructed, Early Neolithic to Late Bronze Age - 4000 BC (Between) to 701 BC (Between))

Full description

Ordnance Survey, 1880-1899, First Edition Ordnance 25 inch map (Cartographic). SDV336179.

'Pile of Stones' shown on 19th century map on the parish boundary between Shaugh Prior and Sparkwell.

Ordnance Survey, 1904 - 1906, Second Edition Ordnance Survey 25 inch Map (Cartographic). SDV325644.

'Pile of Stones' shown on early 20th century map.

Royal Commission for the Historical Monuments of England, 1978, NMR 1247, NMR 1247/132-133 31-MAY-1978 (Aerial Photograph). SDV363091.

A mound is visible as an earthwork.

National Monuments Record, 1978, SX5659/2, 127-9 (National Monuments Record Database). SDV337247.

Edwards, C., 1979, An archaeological survey of an area surrounding Hemerdon Ball (Report - Survey). SDV337241.

Cairn on slopes of Crownhill Down visited on 18th June 1979. One of three Prehistoric cairns marking the Sparkwell/Shaugh Prior parish boundary shown as 'Pile of Stones' on Ordnance Survey maps (see Monument IDs 12654 & 12656). Diameter 6 meters, height 0.5 meters.

Devon County Council, 1982, Crownhill Down (Plan - measured). SDV337246.

AMAX, 1982, The Hemerdon Project. Archaeological Sites (Plan - measured). SDV149232.

Prehistoric cairn shown on the Shaugh Prior & Sparkwell parish boundary.

Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England, 1985, SX55NE (Cartographic). SDV337243.

One possible cairn visible - not very upstanding, as seen on 1978 aerial photograph. Marked as 'Pile of Stones' on Ordnance Survey maps.

Butler, J., 1994, Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities: Volume Three - The South-West, 194-6, 214, Map 52, Figure 52.16 (Monograph). SDV137656.

Crownhill Down W. cairn at SX65255981 of 8.0 metres diameter by 0.6 metres high situated on the west side of Crownhill Down.

Environment Agency, 1998-2017, LiDAR DTM data (1m resolution) EA: South Devon Coast to Dartmoor, LIDAR SX5659 Environment Agency DTM 01-JAN-1998 to 31-MAY-2017 (Cartographic). SDV361470.

A mound is visible as an earthwork.

National Monuments Record, 2002, 910300 (National Monuments Record Database). SDV343957.

Cairn on Crownhill Down. Mound at SX56265981 used as a boundary marker. Other details: NMR Number 910300.

Fletcher, M., 2002, The Archaeological Landscape of Crownhill Down and Ridding Down: Survey Report, 4 (Report - Survey). SDV343412.

Other details: Figure 3 and Crownhill Down Survey.

English Heritage, 2009, Heritage at Risk Register 2009: South West (Report - non-specific). SDV342694.

Generally satisfactory but with significant localised problems. Principal vulnerability scrub and tree growth.

English Heritage, 2010, Heritage at Risk Register 2010: South West, 102 (Report - non-specific). SDV344777.

Google, 2019, Google Earth Pro, EARTH.GOOGLE.COM 22-JUN-2018 ACCESSED 04-JUL-2019 (Aerial Photograph). SDV363088.

The mound has been destroyed by the expansion of by modern open cast mining.

Hegarty, C., Knight, S. and Sims, R., 2019-2021, The South Devon Coast to Dartmoor Aerial Investigation and Mapping Survey. Area 2, Avon Valley to Plymouth (AI&M, formerly NMP) (Interpretation). SDV362982.

A circular mound approximately 6m in diameter is visible as an earthwork on aerial photographs of 1979 on the north-western edge of Crownhill Down.
The mound is interpreted as a cairn of later prehistoric date. It remains visible as an earthwork on digital on images derived from lidar data captured between 1998 and 2014 but has been destroyed by the expansion of by modern open cast mining.

Ordnance Survey, 2022, Mastermap 2022 (Cartographic). SDV364674.

'Pile of Stones' shown as a dot on modern mapping.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV4559 - Archaeological Landscape of Crownhill Down and Riddding Down
• EDV8098 - The South Devon Coast to Dartmoor Aerial Investigation and Mapping (formerly NMP) Survey, Area 2, Avon Valley to Plymouth (Ref: ACD2040)
• EDV5335 - Archaeological Groundtruthing Survey , Crownhill Down
• EDV5343 - Archaeological Trench Evaluation on Crownhill Down
• EDV5397 - An Archaeological Survey of an Area Surrounding Hemmerdon Ball

Search results generated by the HBSMR Gateway from exeGesIS SDM Ltd.