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Summary

Remains of a small chambered cairn which survives well despite the construction of a modern leat close by. The chamber and associated entrance passage include seven orthostats, two of which form a portalled entrance to the chamber.

Location

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument 1021216: Chambered cairn 830m south of Buttern

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: SX68NE74
• National Record of the Historic Environment: 443681
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX68NE/92
• Old SAM Ref: 34480

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• CHAMBERED CAIRN (Constructed, Neolithic - 4000 BC (Between) to 2201 BC (Between))
• CHAMBERED TOMB (Constructed, Neolithic - 4000 BC (Between) to 2201 BC (Between))

Full description

Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, 1978, SX68NE74 (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV234421.

(18/07/1978) SX 65678855 The ruined remains of a small chambered cairn set on a gentle west hillslope in stone-strewn moorland at 1200ft OD. All that remains is a slight mound and a chamber consisting of seven orthostats, two of which form a portaled entrance in the north east. The vestigial mound is 0.4m high on the north west and 0.6m on the south east. Several boulders scattered around the base may have once been part of the cairn.
Surveyed at 1:2500 on AM.

Turner, J., 1979, Two Simple Forms of Passage Graves on Gidleigh Common (Un-published). SDV352755.

Located on a gentle eastern slope, the mound has been much robbed. 10 metres long by 6.5 metres wide by 1.0 metre high. The passage is 2.0 metres long by 1.0 metre wide, the entrance restricted by a blocking stone. Only part of the chamber can be traced. Many large stones are buried in the mound.

Turner, J. R., 1980, Chamber Cairns, Gidleigh, 119, Fig. (Article in Serial). SDV234360.

Gidleigh South is located on a terrace 450 metres south-south-west of Gidleigh North. The cairn, only 0.5 metres high may have lost much of its original shape to the construction of a modern leat a few metres to the west. The remains of the passage is still traceable, 2.0 metres long with a pair of transverse stones at the entrance to the chamber. There appear to be a large number of stones buried in the mound. A comparable plan of the cairn passage layout can be found at Les Puades in France.

The Royal Commission on the Historic Monuments of England Aerial Photograph Unit, 1985, The Royal Commission on the Historic Monuments of England Aerial Photograph Project (Interpretation). SDV340940.

Not visible on RAF 1947 aerial photo.

Butler, J., 1991, Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities: Volume Two - The North, 195, 243, Map 38, Figure 38.3 (Monograph). SDV219155.

Buttern Hill Chambered Cairn '1' at SX65668855 of 8.0 metres by 6.0 metres by 0.5 metres high. The cairn has a clearly defined passage of two pairs of stones about 2 metres long by 1 meter wide and opening towards the south-west. The other end is restricted by a pair of cross slabs at the entrance to the chamber. Beyond these lies a large partly turf covered slab and the tops of several others which show just above the surface of the ground in the body of the mound, probably the chamber walls. The upcast from the interior has been thrown out downhill, distorting the shape of the mound so that the tomb is now well off centre.

Watson, J. + Watson, R. + Kelland, C., 2012-2013, Gidleigh South Chambered Tomb (Plan - measured). SDV352762.

Ordnance Survey, 2013, MasterMap (Cartographic). SDV350786.

Chambered cairn marked.

English Heritage, 2013, National Heritage List for England, 1021216 (National Heritage List for England). SDV350785.

Chambered cairn 830m south of Buttern. The monument includes a chambered cairn situated on an east facing slope of Buttern Hill overlooking the valley of the River Teign. The cairn survives as a 10m long by 6.5m wide mound standing up to 0.6m high. The chamber and associated entrance passage includes seven orthostats standing up to 0.5m high, two of which form a north east facing portaled entrance. Adjacent to the western side of the cairn is a leat bank which measures 3m wide by 0.8m high and the leat itself which is 2.4m wide by 0.6m deep. Despite partial robbing, the chambered cairn 830m south of Buttern survives well and contains important archaeological and environmental information relating to the monument and the landscape in which it was built. Chambered cairns are rare on Dartmoor and this one represents part of a unique cluster of at least three examples.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events: none recorded

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