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Summary

Cairn with cist on north side of Hentor newtake wall of 4.0 metres diameter by 0.5 metres high. Eight stones of circle survive. Cist is in fair condition of 1.0 metres by 0.5 metres and 0.5 metres deep

Location

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument 1019082: Multi-period remains at Hentor Warren

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: SX56NE100
• National Record of the Historic Environment: 438785
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX56NE/156
• Old SAM Ref Revised: 24230(P)
• Old SAM Ref: 10650

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• CAIRN (Constructed, Bronze Age - 2200 BC to 701 BC (Between))
• CIST (Constructed, Bronze Age - 2200 BC to 701 BC (Between))

Full description

Worth, R. H., 1901, 20th Report of the Barrow Committee, 119 (Article in Serial). SDV163208.

One side and both ends of this kistvaen still stand and the coverstone lies hard by. The south-east end stone was re-erected after the kist had been excavated. Length 0.68m, maximum width 0.4m. In order to partly compensate for the extreme narrowness at the south-east end it appears that the side stone still standing has always leant to the end stones and so given about 200mm more width at floor level. The other side stone may have been similarly set, but only one half remains, it having been broken along its length. The half remaining was buried in refilling the kistvaen. No results from excavation. The kistvaen has been covered by a barrow and also apparently surrounded by a stone circle.

Grinsell, L. V., 1978, Dartmoor Barrows, 164, Shaugh Prior 26 (Article in Serial). SDV273224.

(08/06/1974 Grinsell + -/1/1977 Turner) Cairn with traces of retaining circle, enclosing cist placed south-east by north-west, south-west side slab missing. Capstone to south. Diameter 3.4m.

Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, 1979, SX56NE100 (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV162296.

(22/02/1979) SX 59366580. On a west facing slope north of Hen Tor at 364.0m OD is a cairn with circle and cist. The cairn is 4.0m in diameter and 0.5m high and contains at least eight stones in the 'circle' that surrounds the centrally placed cist. The cist, in fair condition, is aligned north-west/south-east. It measures 1.0m by 0.5m and is 0.5m deep but one side stone is absent. The coverstone lies just to the south-west (see plan).
Surveyed at 1:10 000 on PFD.

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

Not visible on the 1946 Royal Air Force verticals.

Turner, J. R., 1990, Ring Cairns, Stone Circles and Related Monuments on Dartmoor, 76/e48 (Article in Serial). SDV229817.

Platform circle. Ring of kerb stones, 2.4m internal diameter, enclosing flat-topped cairn 0.25m high with central cist.

Gerrard, S., 1990-2002, Monument Protection Programme. Archaeological Item Dataset., MPP 140445 (Report - Survey). SDV277946.

(02/06/1995) Round cairn containing a cist, lying within an historic field. Forms part of a complex multi period archaeological landscape on the north-west slope of Hen Tor overlooking the valley of the River Plym.
Mound is 5m in diameter and stands up to 0.4m high. Protruding from the mound are at least six upright stones forming a circle with a 2.4m diameter. The interior of area formed by this internal kerb has been excavated to reveal a cist orientated south-east by north-west. The interior of the cist is 0.68m by 0.4m by 0.5m deep. A flat partly buried stone lying immediately south-west of the cist may be the displaced capstone.

Butler, J., 1994, Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities: Volume Three - The South-West, 146-7, Map 49, Figure 49.22 (Monograph). SDV137656.

Hen Tor N '2' cairn at SX59366579 of 5.0 metres diameter by 0.4 metres high with a cist lies just north of Hentor newtake wall some 14 metres west of a ruined vermin trap of Hentor Warren. The cist is unusual for the extremely narrow end stones, the eastern one little more than a post, so to increase the the floor area the side slabs were propped up against them at an angle. Worth uncovered the fourth stone forming the south-west side of the box, still in place but split along its length. He reburied it after examining the infill of the cist. A corner of the capstone is exposed alongside and the tops of a few stones on end within the mound are arranged in a circle about 3.0 metres across around it.

Thackray, C., 1994, The Upper Plym Valley: the management of an historic landscape, 310/102.1215 (Report - non-specific). SDV143510.

Probert, S. A. J. + Fletcher, M. J., 2002, Plym Valley survey (Report - Survey). SDV350782.

(22/08/2001) This feature is as described by the Ordnance Survey (1979).

English Heritage, 2005-2008, Prehistoric Survey Information (Cartographic). SDV345521.

Cairn shown on survey.

GeoInformation Group Ltd, 2010, 1:625 2010 Colour (12.5cm resolution) (Aerial Photograph). SDV346026.

Visible on aerial photograph.

Various, 2018-2020, PALs Condition Recording forms, UPHT-34 (Worksheet). SDV362781.

(16/03/2020) Condition of cairn assessed as good. Description from HER is accurate. The area is lightly grazed with no damage apparent. There are localised, small patches of reeds on and around site.

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

Photographs taken during March 2020 visit.

Ordnance Survey, 2021, MasterMap 2021 (Cartographic). SDV364015.

Cairn shown on modern mapping.

Historic England, 2021, National Heritage List for England, 1019082 (National Heritage List for England). SDV364016.

At least ten round cairns survive within the monument. Eight of these lie on the lower north facing slope of Hen Tor and the remaining two are situated west of the Willings Walls Reave. The cairns on the northern slopes of Hen Tor form part of a wider distribution of funerary monuments and the others are the subject of separate schedulings. A cairn containing a cist lies at SX59366580 and this survives as a 5 metres diameter mound standing up to 0.4 metres high. Protruding from the mound are at least six upright stones forming a circle with a diameter of 2.4 metres. The interior of the area formed by this internal kerb has been excavated to reveal a cist orientated south-east to north-west. The interior of the cist measures 0.68 metres long, 0.4 metres wide and 0.5 metres deep. A flat, partly buried stone lying immediately south-west of the cist may be the displaced capstone.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV8148 - The Upper Plym Valley: The Management of an Historic Landscape
• EDV8155 - Plym Valley Survey
• EDV8378 - Excavation of barrow, Hentor Warren

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