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Summary

A stone alignment and a cairn with cist lying on a gentle slope near the summit of Lakehead Hill. The stone alignment survives as a single row of at least 11 stones leading westward towards the cairn and cist. The cairn measures 6.7 metres in diameter and is defined by several edge set stones, which in turn surround a large restored cist formed by five substantial upright slabs supporting a capstone measuring 2.2 metre long by 1.55 metres wide and 0.3 metres thick.

Location

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument 1018510: Five cairns, two stone alignments and three cists, forming part of a ritual complex on Lakehead Hill

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: SX67NW32
• National Record of the Historic Environment: 442599
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX67NW/28
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX67NW/28/1
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX67NW/28/2
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX67NW/28/3
• Old SAM County Ref: 886
• Old SAM Ref: 28687

Monument Type(s) and Dates

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

Full description

Worth, R. N., 1895, The Stone Rows of Dartmoor: Part 4, 439 (Article in Serial). SDV273221.

Baring Gould, S., 1896, Third Report of the Dartmoor Exploration Committee, 182-3, plate IV (Article in Serial). SDV260468.

Worth, R. H., 1898, 17th Report of the Barrow Committee, 77-78 pl.1 (Article in Serial). SDV345618.

Cist on Lakehead Hills like a box, half sunk in ground to max depth of 0.6m. Capstone removed. Excavation revealed three flint knives, three flint scrapers, thirty potsherds from two vessels (one an urn), wood charcoal but no bone or bone ash. Burnard reports no trace of a circle.

Ordnance Survey, 1904 - 1906, Second Edition Ordnance Survey 25 inch Map (Cartographic). SDV325644.

'Kistvaen (Remains of)' shown on early 20th century map 67 metres to the north-north-east.

Breton, H. H., 1926, The Heart of Dartmoor, Morwenstow, 35-6 (Monograph). SDV265360.

Worth, R. H., 1936, 55th Report on Barrows, 50 (Article in Serial). SDV357808.

Brailsford, J. W., 1938, Bronze Age Stone Monuments of Dartmoor, 445-6, 447, 448, 451 (Article in Serial). SDV304210.

Royal Air Force, 1945, RAF/106G/UK/879, 7017-8 (Aerial Photograph). SDV269537.

Worth, R. H., 1946, The Stone Rows of Dartmoor. Part 1, 310, Row number 51 (Article in Serial). SDV251172.

Stone row of eleven upright stones and two socket holes terminating in the remains of a cairn. It describes a curve unknown elsewhere on Dartmoor. May be the result of restoration.
A cist with retaining stone circle at the terminal of a stone row. All restored about 1895. The cist is complete with coverstone. Only six stones of the retaining circle remain. The stone row, consisting of eleven stones, starts within the circle and describes a slight curve for 44 ft. The socket holes of two more stones have also been found.

Royal Air Force, 1951, RAF/540/483, 3046-7 (Aerial Photograph). SDV224087.

Birkett Dixon, C. E., 1952, 70th Report on Barrows, 252, No. 68 (Article in Serial). SDV165393.

Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, 1952, SX67NW32 (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV264822.

(08/01/1952) Cist surrounded by stone circle, 6.5m diameter. Stone row extends to its east; a row of nine stones, Cist in excellent condition - lidded chamber, surrounded by stone circle. Chamber 2.0m long, 1.0m wide.

Worth, R. H., 1953, Dartmoor, 229-30 (Monograph). SDV231148.

Brown, T., 1961, Tales of a Dartmoor Village: Some Preliminary Notes on the Folklore of Postbridge, 205 (Article in Serial). SDV238060.

Worth, R. H., 1967, Worth's Dartmoor, 229 (Monograph). SDV337618.

Ancient Monuments, 1971, Schedule notes (Schedule Document). SDV264638.

(04/03/1971) cairn mound largely eroded away. Well preserved granite slab cist in centre consisting of five upright wall stones with a capstone on top. Prior to 1895 there was a moss covered heap of stones here. Cist measures 6ft by 4ft.

Davidson, C. + Seabrook, R., 1973, Stone Rings on south-east Dartmoor (Article in Serial). SDV345864.

Dartmoor National Park Authority + Forestry Commission + Dartmoor Preservation Association, 1976, Conservation of Ancient Monuments. The Report of a Working Party, Sites 7, 16, Nos. 14/15a (Report - non-specific). SDV248248.

Ring cairn with cist. Cist (height 0.8m, length 1.7m, width 1.2m, capstone 2.4 by 1.5m). Marked on OS 6" map. Included in 1955 Spooner/Dixon report: (Lakehead Bellever Laughter), site No. 7. Site No. 14a in Bellever Plantation, Lakehead (with sketch map) in DNP field report.
Site visit April 1976. Re-erected. Eleven stones, at the north-western end is site 16a (cairn with cist) not planted over. Ten posts ringing clearance zone, enclosing sites 14a 15a. Clear of trees and debris. Trees outside post ring are within falling distance of stone row.
The cist has been re-erected. Capstone at SE end of site 18a. Not planted over.
Site number 16 / site number 15A in Bellever Plantation, Lakehead (with sketch map) in field report.

Grinsell, L. V., 1978, Dartmoor Barrows, 149 (Article in Serial). SDV273224.

(07/09/1972) Situated in clearing of Bellever Plantation, Lakehead Hill. Slight cairn with retaining circle enclosing cist placed SE/NW, with stone row descending to east. Cairn enclosing cist with stone row to east. Diameter 6.7m, height only slight. Whole site restored, too drastically, in c. 1895.

Emmett, D. D., 1979, Stone Rows: The Traditional View Reconsidered, 111 (Article in Serial). SDV251087.

Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, 1979, SX67NW32 (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV348027.

(19/11/1979) On the E slope of Lakehead Hill at 422m OD, and now in a clearing within conifers, is a cairn circle enclosing a cist, from which a short stone row extends to the E. There is now no trace of a cairn or barrow within the circle. The cist stands mostly above ground, measures 1.7m by 1.2m and 0.8m high internally, and is aligned NW/SE. The cairn consists of six upright slabs averaging 0.6m by 0.2m and 0.4m high; it is incomplete and would appear to be sub-oval and about 8m by 6.5m. One large stone, possibly displaced, lies within the circle (shown on plan). The stone row is 13.0m long and slightly curved, and consists of twelve slabs aligned towards the cist and cutting the circle. The stones are of similar size to those of the circle. The restored features remain in very good condition, (see ground photographs).
Surveyed at 1:10 000 on MSD and at 1:250.

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

One standing stone is visible on the RAF 1945 aerial photos which may be part of this stone row.

Turner, J. R., 1990, Ring Cairns, Stone Circles and Related Monuments on Dartmoor, 42, 71/d6 (Article in Serial). SDV229817.

Small orthostatic circle, diameter 6.7m, with central cist and restored stone row.

Gerrard, S., 1990-2002, Monument Protection Programme. Archaeological Item Dataset., MPP 144266-66 (Report - Survey). SDV277946.

(09/07/1997) Stone alignment forming part of a ritual complex on Lakehead Hill. Lies in small clearing. Surrounded by a post and wire fence, although this extends for some distance and also encloses a large number of trees.

Butler, J., 1991, Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities: Volume Two - The North, 50-51, Map 27, Figure 27.13 (Monograph). SDV219155.

Lakehead Hill cairn '4' at SX64497760 of 6.7 metres diameter with a cist. The cist consists of five slabs topped with a massive capstone and surrounded by a retaining circle of which six stones remain. The cairn material had been removed long before the cist and retaining cairn were re-erected in 1895. The restoration was probably inaccurate and at least one stone of the circle seems to have been misplaced outwards giving the impression that the stone row starts within the circumference. The smaller circle of 6.7 metres diameter shown on the plan best fits the majority of the stones but places the cist well off-centre. The stone row runs downhill from the cist with 11 stones and the sockets if two more were uncovered in 1895. The course of the row alters northwards after the fifth stone .

Royal Commission for the Historical Monuments of England, 1993-1998, Dartmoor Royal Forest Project, P. Newman (Report - Survey). SDV346608.

(22/11/1993) SX 64507760. A restored cist with fragmentary retaining circle, at the western end of a stone row. It is sited slightly east of the crest of Lakehead Hill within its own clearing in the Bellever Plantation. The cist is constructed from granite slabs of approximately 0.2m thick, set on their edge to form a rectangular chamber measuring internally 1.7m by 1.2m. The coverstone has been replaced over the cist and measures 2.2m by 1.6m by 03m thick. The overall height, including the coverstone is 0.8m. Six upright slabs of up to 0.5m high, surround the cist forming an incomplete circle on of 8m diameter. A displaced slab of 0.8m by 0.5m lies within the circle on the western side. An erosion hollow has formed on the west side between the cist and the stone circle.
The first stone of the stone row stands within the circle, 1.7m east of the cist. There are eleven stones in the row, which extends for 12.8m to the east, with stones spaced between 0.3m and 0.6m apart. They are all slabs of between 0.2 to 0.3m thick and up to 0.8m wide at base. They stand to a maximum height of 0.75m. The eastern portion of the row is within bog.

Quinnell, N. V., 1995, Notes in Sites and Monument Record: stone rows, Bellever Lakehead 1. (Personal Comment). SDV138550.

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

Features shown on survey.

Ordnance Survey, 2011, MasterMap (Cartographic). SDV346129.

'Cist' and 'Stone Row' shown on modern mapping.

Dartmoor National Park Authority, 2014, Bellever: An Archaeological Landscape (Leaflet). SDV357070.

Historic England, 2022, National Heritage List for England, 1018510 (National Heritage List for England). SDV364675.

The monument, which falls into five areas of protection, includes five cairns, two stone alignments and three cists lying on a gentle slope near the summit of Lakehead Hill. This second stone alignment within the monument lies further to the east and survives as a single row of at least 11 stones leading westward towards a cairn and cist. The cairn measures 6.7 metres in diameter and is defined by several edge set stones, which in turn surround a large restored cist formed by five substantial upright slabs supporting a capstone measuring 2.2 metres long by 1.55 metres wide and 0.3 metres thick.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV7388 - Archaeological condition survey in Bellever Woods
• EDV7406 - Archaeological condition survey in Bellever Woods
• EDV7431 - Woodland Survey (1989-90) at Bellever, Soussons and other woodland parcels
• EDV8488 - Excavation at Lakehead Hill, Bellever Plantation
• EDV8409 - Dartmoor Royal Forest Project

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