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Summary

Ring barrow on Ridding Down of 20.0 metres diameter by 0.5 metres high. A low mound encircled by a narrow scarp and outer bank are clearly visible on aerial photographs. It is one of a pair of prehistoric round barrows recorded on Ridding Down.

Location

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument 1002586: Two round barrows on Ridding Down
• SHINE: Prehistoric barrows and hut platforms, remains of parallel reave system dating to the Bronze Age and enclosure of unknown date on Ridding Down
• SHINE: Prehistoric barrows and hut platforms, remains of parallel reave system dating to the Bronze Age and enclosure of unknown date on Ridding Down

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: 439312
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX56SE/77
• Old SAM County Ref: 721A
• Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division: SX56SE 72
• Pastscape: 439312

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• (Alternate Type) RING CAIRN (Constructed, Early Neolithic to Late Bronze Age - 4000 BC to 701 BC)
• ROUND BARROW (Constructed, Early Neolithic to Late Bronze Age - 4000 BC (Between) to 701 BC (Between))

Full description

Royal Air Force, 1951, RAF/540/483, RAF/106G/UK/1190 RS 4253-4254 27-FEB-1946 (Aerial Photograph). SDV352103.

A low mound and encircling bank are visible as vegetation covered earthworks.

Ordnance Survey, 1969, OS/69296, OS/69296 V 008-009 29-JUN-1969 (Aerial Photograph). SDV361475.

A low mound and encircling bank with vegetation covered stones are visible as earthworks.

Ministry of Public Building and Works, 1969, Two Round Barrows on Ridding Down (Schedule Document). SDV343366.

Site visit in May 1969. A 'Flat' barrow: circular platform 59 feet diameter and approximately 18 inches high. Kerb of small moorstones clearly visible. Other details: Map, site (a).

Ordnance Survey, 1977, SX56SE 72 (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV343364.

A barrow 60 feet in diameter and 1.5 feet high. It is flat topped and has a stone rim. Other details: Plan, site (a).

National Monuments Record, 1977, SX5860, 2 (Aerial Photograph). SDV343365.

Grinsell, L. V., 1978, Dartmoor Barrows, 136 (Article in Serial). SDV273224.

Site visit 7th May 1976. Truncated cairn, with remains of retaining circle. Diameter 20.0 metres, heig 0.3 metres. Sited - saddle.

Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England, 1985, Barrow on Ridding Down (Interpretation). SDV343367.

Barrow visible and recorded.

Butler, J., 1994, Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities: Volume Three - The South-West (Monograph). SDV137656.

Ridding Down cairn '2' at SX58046136 of 20 metres diameter by 0.5 metres high. Large cairn at the margin of the field shown as '12' on Figure 52.16. A circular bank supporting a single line of slabs surrounds a flat interior, with no signs of disturbance.

Bluesky International Ltd/Getmapping PLC, 1999-2017, Pan Government Agreement Aerial Photographs, Next Perspectives APGB Imagery SX5861 01-JUN-2002 (Aerial Photograph). SDV363087.

A low mound and encircling bank are visible as earthworks.

Bluesky International Ltd/Getmapping PLC, 1999-2017, Pan Government Agreement Aerial Photographs, Next Perspectives APGB Imagery SX5861 030-MAY-2007 (Aerial Photograph). SDV363087.

A low ring bank with protruding stones are visible as subtle earthworks, surrounded by evidence of groundworks.

Bluesky International Ltd/Getmapping PLC, 1999-2017, Pan Government Agreement Aerial Photographs, Next Perspectives APGB Imagery SX5861 31-MAY-2016 (Aerial Photograph). SDV363087.

A ring bank is visible as a subtle earthwork.

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.

Greeves, T. A. P., 2003, Ridding Down Cairn (Ground Photograph). SDV346024.

Photo of Ridding Down in 2003 showing the cairn rather well in its context of rough moorland.

Cartographic Engineering, 2006, Dartmoor 2006 1:1250 Aerial Photography (digital) (Aerial Photograph). SDV345590.

Visible on aerial photograph.

National Monuments Record, 2009, 439312 (National Monuments Record Database). SDV343508.

Two prehistoric round barrows situated on a gentle north facing slope in open moorland. The original form and composition of this barrow is unclear. It is now visible as a well defined flat topped mound apparently retained by a possibly contiguous ring of upright stones set within an earthen bank or scarp. The mound is up to 22 metres diamater and the granite retaining ring is 15.6 metres diameter. The interior is approximately 0.2 metres above ground level and some boulders within the rim protrude 0.1 metres above the earthen bank.

English Heritage, 2009, Heritage at Risk Register 2009: South West, 107 (Report - non-specific). SDV342694.

Generally unsatisfactory condition. Principal vulnerability extensive stock erosion.

English Heritage, 2010, Heritage at Risk Register 2010: South West, 99 (Report - non-specific). SDV344777.

Knight, S., 2010, Ridding Down Forestry South Hams Site Visit (Personal Comment). SDV345960.

Barrow damaged, English Heritage are investigating. Stones not visible and earthwork much reduced.

English Heritage, 2011, Heritage at Risk Register 2011: South West, 104 (Report - non-specific). SDV355280.

Generally unsatisfactory condition. Declining.

NERC, 2013, LiDAR DTM data (1m resolution) Tellus: South Devon to Dartmoor, LIDAR SX5861 Tellus DTM 01-JUL-2013 to 31-AUG-2013 (Cartographic). SDV361514.

A low mound and encircling bank are visible as earthworks.

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 low mound encircled by a narrow scarp and outer bank are clearly visible on aerial photographs of 1946 onwards, on the gentle south-facing slopes on the higher unenclosed saddle of land of Ridding Down.
The earthworks are interpreted as the remains of a ring cairn or barrow of Bronze Age date.
The low central mound is slightly irregularly shaped and measures up to 11m across. The ring bank, circa 2m wide, is separated from the mound by a scarp 1-2m wide and encloses an area 13 to 14m across. A slight external scarp is detectable.
The earthworks are most clearly visible on aerial photographs of the mid to late 1960s. They remain clearly identifiable on digital images derived from aerial photographs taken in 2002 but have suffered significant erosion from ground improvement on images of 2007, where the stones in the enclosing bank are clearly identifiable.
The earthworks are barely visible on digital images derived from aerial photographs taken in 2016 and remain visible as only as very subtle earthworks on visualisations derived from lidar data captured in 2013.

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

Cairn shown on modern mapping.

Historic England, 2022, National Heritage List for England, 1002586 (National Heritage List for England). SDV364675.

The monument, which falls into two separate areas of protection, includes a ring cairn and round cairn situated on a gentle north facing slope of Ridding Down overlooking the valley of the Tory Brook. The ring cairn, to the north, survives as a circular bank defined by a kerb of stones on its interior edge surrounding a central flat area with a diameter of 15.6 metres. The bank measures up to 3.2 metres wide and 0.4 metres high.

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)

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