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Summary

A round cairn 3.9 metres in diameter and 0.3 metres high; some surface stone is visible. (Note: not shown accurately on the Ordnance Survey base mapping).

Location

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument 1016146: Two cairns and a cist on the western slope of Great Gnats' Head

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: SX66NW4
• National Record of the Historic Environment: 441576
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX66NW/16/1
• Old SAM Ref: 10752(P)
• Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division: SX66NW4

Monument Type(s) and Dates

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

Full description

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

Great Gnat's Head. Cist. Opened and pit sunk in subsoil found. 396m south south east from Plym ford, consists of two sides and one end stone.6.10m from the centre lies the centre of a small barrow 2.743m in diameter. The barrow was examined and proved to cover a circular, paved area. Underneath the flat paving stones lay a large flat stone which closely resembled the cover stone of a kistvaen. This latter, however, rested on the subsoil everywhere and covered neither a pit in the calm nor a kistvaen.

Worth, R. H., 1902, 21st Report of the Barrow Committee, 110 (Article in Serial). SDV20971.

Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, 1950, SX66NW4 (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV164619.

(07/06/1950) Excavations showed the cairn covered a paved area only. Diameter 3m, height 0.2m.

Grinsell, L. V., 1978, Dartmoor Barrows, 162 (Article in Serial). SDV273224.

Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, 1978, SX66NW4 (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV164617.

(12/09/1978) A small heather covered cairn, situated on a slight west slope at 430m OD. It is 3.0m in diameter and 0.3m high with a small hollow in the centre. Surveyed at 1:10000 on PFD.

Gerrard, S., 1990-2002, Monument Protection Programme. Archaeological Item Dataset., MPP 140538 (Report - Survey). SDV277946.

(03/06/1995) Round cairn adjacent to cist. Cairn lies 4m south of the cist and survives as a 4m diameter and 0.2m high mound. This cairn was investigated in 1901 and found to cover a circular, carefully paved area lying on top of a large flat stone.

Butler, J., 1994, Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities: Volume Three - The South-West, 155, 212, Map 50, Figure 50.4 (Monograph). SDV137656.

Great Gnats'Head cairn '2' at SX61196803 of 4.0 metres diameter by 0.2 metres high. When excavated this mound was found to cover a paved area which in turn overlay a large slab resembling the 'cover-stone of a kistvaen'. There was no pit below nor any other structural features and no artefacts were recovered.

Thackray, C., 1994, The Upper Plym Valley: the management of an historic landscape, 309, 102.1211 (Report - non-specific). SDV143510.

English Heritage, 1997, Scheduled Monument Notification (Schedule Document). SDV164760.

Bronze Age round cairn 4m in diameter and 0.2m high. Investigated in 1901 and found to cover a circular paved area on top of a flat stone. Scheduled.

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

(28/02/2002) SX 61176802. A round cairn 3.9m in diameter and 0.3m high; some surface stone is visible.

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

Cairn shown on survey.

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

'Cairn' shown 20 metres to the east on modern mapping.

Historic England, 2022, National Heritage List for England, 1016146 (National Heritage List for England). SDV364675.

A cairn lies 4 metres south of the cist and this survives as a 4 metres diameter and 0.2 metres high mound. This cairn was also investigated in 1901 and found to cover a circular, carefully paved area lying on top of a large flat stone.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV8148 - The Upper Plym Valley: The Management of an Historic Landscape

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