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Summary

A cairnfield comprising 12 cairns situated on Lake Down.

Location

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument 1019584: Lake Down cairnfield 810m ESE and 780m east of Lake Viaduct

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: SX58NW40
• National Record of the Historic Environment: 1023855
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX58NW/50
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX58NW/50/1
• Old SAM Ref: 24052

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• CAIRN (Early Neolithic to Late Bronze Age - 4000 BC to 701 BC)
• CAIRNFIELD (Bronze Age - 2200 BC (Between) to 701 BC (Between))
• CLEARANCE CAIRN (Bronze Age - 2200 BC (Between) to 701 BC (Between))

Full description

Greeves, T. + Fleming, A., 1980, Cairns (Worksheet). SDV278382.

(09/01/1980) Group of nine or more prehistoric cairns, all vegetation covered, forming 'cairnfield' or 'cairn cemetery'. Discovered by T. Greeves when out with A. Fleming looking for features of this kind. Lake Down cairnfield. On a narrow sloping site. 10 or 11 cairns in a small tight cluster.

Fleming, A., 1980, The Cairnfields of North-West Dartmoor, 9-12 (Article in Serial). SDV251119.

The Lake Down Cairnfield, centred around SX 542 888 at 395m OD is on a narrow shelf on a steeply sloping hillside. There are 10 or 11 small cairns mostly in a tight cluster with one or two outliers to the North of the main group .

Gerrard, S., 1990-2002, Monument Protection Programme. Archaeological Item Dataset., MPP 128987, 128937 (Report - Survey). SDV277946.

(30/04/1993) Lake Down cairnfield. The 11 cairns forming the largest part of a cairnfield on Lake Down are situated on a narrow natural terrace on a steep west-facing slope overlooking West Devon. Nine of the mounds are sub-circular 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, and 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 central hollow, 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. See related records.

Butler, J., 1991, Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities: Volume Two - The North, 151 (Monograph). SDV219155.

English Heritage, 2001, Schedule notes (Schedule Document). SDV278387.

A cairnfield, comprising 12 cairns, located on a narrow natural terrace on Lake Down. Ten of the mounds are sub-circular in shape while the remaining two are ovoid. 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 it is more likely that they are clearance cairns, associated with Bronze Age cultivation of the area. Scheduled.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events: none recorded

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