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Summary

The remains of a stony cairn are visible in an area of clitter and close-cropped moorland turf on the fringe of a large Bronze Age settlement. The loosely piled stones and boulders measure 6.7 metres by 3.8 metres and form two piles each 0.5 metres high. There is no evidence to suggest the presence of an original kerb. It is probably a Post Medieval stone clearance heap rather than a Bronze Age cairn.

Location

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument 1013427: A partially enclosed stone hut circle settlement, round cairn, post medieval farmstead, millstone and stone cutting pits 580m ESE of Merrivale Bridge

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: SX 57 SE 108
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX57SE/276
• Old SAM Ref: 24191
• Pastscape: 440336

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• CLEARANCE CAIRN (Constructed, Post Medieval - 1540 AD (Between) to 1750 AD (Between))

Full description

Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, 1979, SX57SE108 (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV251753.

(27/11/1979) A cairn 3.4 meters in diameter and composed of small slabs and blocks 0.3 metres high, circumscribed by a crude kerb 0.2 metres high. A post-type stone, 1.0 metres long by 0.15 metres in section, lies across the cairn. It is doubtful whether it is a clearance cairn because it would be the only one in the vicinity so more likely it is sepulchral.
Found during field investigation.
Surveyed at 1:10 000 on MSD & 1:2500 for which see SX 57 SE 19.

Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England, 1985, Aerial Photograph Project (Dartmoor) - Dartmoor Pre-NMP (Cartographic). SDV319854.

Not recorded during the Aerial Photograph Project.

Gerrard, S., 1990-2002, Monument Protection Programme. Archaeological Item Dataset., 1994, MPP 133541 (Report - Survey). SDV277946.

Round cairn lies immediately south of a large partially enclosed settlement. Mound measures 3.4 metres in diameter, stands up to 0.4 metres high and is surrounded by a low kerb of edge set stones. A large slab measuring 1.0 metre by 0.15 metres thick lies across the mound and may have once stood nearby. The origin and function of this cairn cannot be established with certainty, although given its location between a settlement and major ceremonial site a funerary origin does seem the most likely.

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

Depicted and described by Butler (1994, Map 44).

Probert, S. A. J. + Fletcher, M. J., 2000, The Merrivale Guardianship Area, Walkhampton, Devon (Report - Survey). SDV344969.

(21/01/2000) SX 55637486 The remains of a stony cairn are visible in an area of clitter and close-cropped moorland turf on the fringe of a large Bronze Age settlement. The loosely piled stones and boulders measure 6.7 metres by 3.8 metres and form two piles each 0.5 metres high. There is no evidence to suggest the presence of an original kerb. It is probably a Post-medieval stone clearance heap rather than a Bronze Age cairn.

Ordnance Survey, 2010, MasterMap (Cartographic). SDV344030.

Various, 2018-2020, PALs Condition Recording forms, MER-9 (Worksheet). SDV362781.

Visited 18/09/2019. Cairn covered with grass with gorse outcrops. Overall condition moderate. Photo taken.

Various, 2018-2020, PALs Condition Recording photographs, MER-9 (Photograph). SDV363073.

Photo looking 160° showing grass cover with gorse outcrops.

Historic England, 2021-2022, NRHE to HER website, Accessed 11/10/2021 (Website). SDV364039.

A Bronze Age cairn mound measuring 3.4 metres in diameter and standing up to 0.4 metres high. It is surrounded by a low kerb of edge set stones and may be funerary in function. A short distance to the west lies a length of rubble bank. This may represent part of the Great Western Reave or have formed part of an enclosure boundary associated with the nearby hut circle settlement. Scheduled Monument Notification, 12/01/1996.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV4830 - Survey of guardianship area, Merrivale

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