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Summary

Stone circle consisting of between 9-18 stones laid out in a roughly circular arrangement measuring around 25 metres in diameter, submerged in Tottiford Reservoir. First discovered in 2009 when the reservoir was drained to just 6% capacity. Associated with a double stone row and another linear feature within a complex in which a quantity of worked flints were recovered.

Location

Protected Status: none recorded

Other References/Statuses: none recorded

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• STONE CIRCLE (Early Neolithic to Late Bronze Age - 4000 BC to 701 BC)

Full description

GSB Prospection, 2010, Geophysical survey report. Tottiford Reservoir, Devon, pg 1-4 (Report - Geophysical Survey). SDV349882.

The magnetic survey detected some of the existing stones of the circle and from this the possible location of some of the buried stones could be predicted.

Fyfe, R., 2010, Trial excavation and survey at Tottiford Reservoir, Dartmoor, pg 1-8 (Report - Geophysical Survey). SDV349875.

This stone circle was initially noticed in late 2009, when the reservoir was only 6% full. A walker, Mr Mike Miller, first recognised the previously unrecorded complex of archaeological features partly buried in the mud at the base of the drained reservoir and alerted Dartmoor National Park Authority (DNPA). A preliminary survey was undertaken by DNPA archaeologist Jane Marchand and Jeremy Butler which recorded the circle as well as two stone rows, a number of cairns and recovered a quantity of flints.
The circle consists of a roughly circular arrangement of 13 stones, approximately 20-25 meters in diameter and is located close to the centre of the reservoir to the east of the meandering path of the original stream that feeds the reservoir.

Wessex Archaeology, 2011, Tottiford Reservoir. Dartmoor National Park, Devon. Archaeological Evaluation and Assessment of Results, pg iii (Report - Evaluation). SDV349885.

A combination of evaluation and geophysical survey confirmed the presence of the stone circle, estimated to be around 25 meters in diameter, containing between 9-18 stones. No suitable dating material was recovered for this feature but a concentration of probable late Mesolithic worked flint was found within the circle. The excavation recorded two in-situ stones and a further recumbent stones of the circle, which is slightly oval in shape, with the longer axis orientated south-west – north-east.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV5938 - Trial excavation and survey at Tottiford Reservoir
• EDV5941 - Survey of the prehistoric complex at Tottiford Reservoir
• EDV5942 - Geophysical survey at Tottiford Reservoir (Ref: 2010/48)
• EDV5944 - Excavation at Tottiford Reservoir (Ref: 74159)

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