List Entry Summary
This monument is scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 as amended as it appears to the Secretary of State to be of national importance. This entry is a copy, the original is held by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
Name: Two cairns on the summit of Water Hill 450m north west of Warren House Inn
List Entry Number: 1019225
Location
The monument may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
County: Devon
District: West Devon
District Type: District Authority
Parish: Chagford
County: Devon
District: West Devon
District Type: District Authority
Parish: Dartmoor Forest
National Park: DARTMOOR
Grade: Not applicable to this List entry.
Date first scheduled: 09-Feb-2001
Date of most recent amendment: Not applicable to this List entry.
Legacy System Information
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System: RSM
UID: 28745
Asset Groupings
This List entry does not comprise part of an Asset Grouping. Asset Groupings are not part of the official record but are added later for information.
List Entry Description
Summary of Monument
Legacy Record - This information may be included in the List Entry Details.
Reasons for Designation
Dartmoor is the largest expanse of open moorland in southern Britain and,
because of exceptional conditions of preservation, it is also one of the most
complete examples of an upland relict landscape in the whole country. The
great wealth and diversity of archaeological remains provide direct evidence
for human exploitation of the Moor from the early prehistoric period onwards.
The well-preserved and often visible relationship between settlement sites,
major land boundaries, trackways, ceremonial and funerary monuments as well as
later industrial remains, gives significant insights into successive changes
in the pattern of land use through time. Round cairns are prehistoric funerary
monuments dating to the Bronze Age (c.2000-700 BC). They were constructed as
earthen or rubble mounds, the latter predominating in areas of upland Britain
where such raw materials were locally available in abundance. Round cairns may
cover single or multiple burials and are sometimes surrounded by an outer
ditch. Often occupying prominent locations, they are a major visual element in
the modern landscape. Their considerable variation in form and longevity as a
monument type provide important information on the diversity of beliefs and
social organisation amongst early prehistoric communities. They are
particularly representative of their period and a substantial proportion of
surviving examples are considered worthy of protection. Dartmoor provides one
of the best preserved and most dense concentrations of round cairns in south-
western Britain.
Despite some damage as a result of interference to one of the mounds, the two
cairns on the summit of Water Hill 450m north west of Warren House Inn survive
comparatively well and contain both environmental and archaeological
information about the construction and use of the mounds and the landscape in
which they were built. The larger of the mounds is visually impressive and
forms a notable and frequently visited landmark within this part of Devon.
History
Legacy Record - This information may be included in the List Entry Details.
Details
The monument includes two round cairns aligned NNW-SSE and an historic shelter
situated on the summit of Water Hill overlooking much of central Dartmoor. The
southern flat-topped cairn measures 18m in diameter, stands up to 1.5m high
and is surmounted by a 1.3m high modern stone pile. A large slab on the
southern side of this pile may have originally been part of a cist. A slight
rim around the summit of the mound may represent a buried kerb or the result
of later interference. A 3m wide band of rushes adjacent to the north eastern
side of the mound may indicate the presence of a ditch, which originally
surrounded the cairn, and from which material was quarried during the
construction of the mound.
The northern mound lies 6.4m from the other cairn, stands up to 0.7m high
and is 5.5m in diameter.
The historic shelter is built into the north eastern side of the large
southern cairn and survives as a 2m long by 1.6m wide rectangular three sided
structure faced by drystone walling standing up to 0.45m high.
MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.
It includes a 2 metre boundary around the archaeological features,
considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.
Selected Sources
Books and journalsButler, J, Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities, (1991), 36
Butler, J, 'Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities - The Second Millennium B.C.' in Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities, , Vol. 5, (1997), 156
OtherDevon County Sites and Monuments Register, SX68SE91, (1995)
Map
National Grid Reference: SX 67154 81302
This copy shows the entry on 12-Jul-2025 at 04:37:31.