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Summary

Remains include a hut circle, lengths of turf-covered stony bank forming part of the associated field system which covers an area of approximately 2.0 hectares and at least twenty small clearance cairns. Several of the clearance cairns appear to have been confused with sepulchral monuments in the past and display shallow delvings in their tops. When combined with the incomplete nature of the field system the cairns suggest that the phase of enclosure in this area occurred in the later Prehistoric period and remained unfinished. Somewhat unusually for Dartmoor the field system encloses an earlier prehistoric ring cairn.

Location

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument 1010779: Cairn forming part of a cairnfield on Homerton Hill
• Scheduled Monument 1010774: Two circular cairns, an ovoid cairn and a ring cairn lying within an enclosure forming part of a cairnfield on Homerton Hill
• Scheduled Monument 1010778: Cairn and cist forming part of a cairnfield on Homerton Hill
• Scheduled Monument 1010776: Cairn forming part of a cairnfield on Homerton Hill
• Scheduled Monument 1010773: Ten cairns and a length of bank forming part of a cairnfield on Homerton Hill
• Scheduled Monument 1010777: Cairn forming part of a cairnfield on Homerton Hill
• Scheduled Monument 1010775: Seven cairns forming part of a cairnfield on Homerton Hill
• Scheduled Monument 1010780: North easternmost cairn forming part of a cairnfield on Homerton Hill
• Scheduled Monument 1013473: Westernmost cairn forming part of a cairnfield on Homerton Hill

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: SX59SE120
• National Monuments Record: SX59SE49
• National Record of the Historic Environment: 1393507
• National Record of the Historic Environment: 967767
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX59SE/40
• Old SAM Ref: 24148

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• (Alternate Type) CAIRN CEMETERY (Constructed, Early Neolithic to Late Bronze Age - 4000 BC to 701 BC)
• CAIRNFIELD (Constructed, Bronze Age - 2200 BC (Between) to 701 BC (Between))
• CLEARANCE CAIRN (Constructed, Bronze Age - 2200 BC (Between) to 701 BC (Between))
• FIELD SYSTEM (Constructed, Bronze Age - 2200 BC (Between) to 701 BC (Between))
• HUT CIRCLE (Constructed, Bronze Age - 2200 BC (Between) to 701 BC (Between))

Full description

Defence Estates, Dartmoor Ministry of Defence Training Areas (Cartographic). SDV363722.

Greeves, T., 1980, Bronze Age remains on Homerton Hill (Worksheet). SDV278000.

Visited on 9th January 1980. Extensive group of small prehistoric cairns (all heather covered), on top of Homerton Hill, farming large 'cairn field' or 'cairn cemetery'. Discovered by Andrew Fleming a few days previously. Some cairns are oval and some long. Also traces of walls/banks etc. Many of these cairns are crest-sited and visible from some distance away.

Fleming, A., 1980, The Cairnfields of North-West Dartmoor, 9-12 (Article in Serial). SDV251119.

Homerton Hill. Cairnfield containing 20-24 cairns. Two main groups with outliers and a sub-group. Field includes conventional small cairns and ovoid cairns.

Gerrard, S., 1990-2002, Monument Protection Programme. Archaeological Item Dataset., MPP 133342. (Report - Survey). SDV277946.

Visited on 31st January 1994. At SX562-904- are 10 cairns forming part of a cairnfield including at least 27 mounds, situated on a gentle north west facing slope of Homerton Hill overlooking the valley of the West Okement River. Six of the cairns are sub-circular in shap e and these range in size from 2.6 metres to 6 metres in diameter and stand between 0.3 metres and 0.8 metres high. The remainder are ovoid in shape, and these range between 3.5 metres to 7 metres long by 2.2 metres to 4 metres wide and stand between 0.4 metres and 0.6 metres high. The average height of all the mounds is 0.47 metres. Three cairns have a shallow central hollow, suggesting robbing or partial early excavation. Some of the cairns may contain burials, but the group most likely represents stone clearance connected with cultivation of the area. The individual cairns can be described individually as follows:
Cairn 1 at SX56169046 measures 6 metres in diameter stands up to 0.8 metres high. A 2 metres by 1 metre by 0.15 metres deep trench cut into the mound is orientated north-north-east to south-south-west and suggests partial early excavation.
Cairn 2 at SX56149045 measures 4 metres in diameter and stands up to 0.3 metres high.
Cairn 3 at SX56159044 measures 2.6 metres in diameter and stands up to 0.3 metres high.
Cairn 4 at SX56169045 measures 3.5 metres by 2.2 metres and stands up to 0.5 metres high. Aligned north-north-west to south-south-east and a 0.4 metre square and 0.1 metre deep central pit suggests robbing or partial early excavation.
Cairn 5 at SX56179044 measures 4 metres in diameter and stands up to 0.5 metres high. A 0.5 metres square and 0.1 metre deep central hollow suggests robbing or partial early excavation.
Cairn 6 at SX56159042 measures 4.5 metres in diameter and stands up to 0.4 metres high.
Cairn 7 at SX56199044 measures 5 metres by 2 metres, stands up to 0.4 metres high and is aligned north-east to south-west.
Cairn 8 at SX56169047 measures 7 metres by 4 metres by up to 0.6 metres high and is aligned north-north-east to south-south-west.
Cairn 9 at SX56189046 measures 4 metres by 2.4 metres by up to 0.4 metres high and is aligned north-north-east to south-south-west.
Cairn 10 at SX56189048 measures 6 metres in diameter by up to 0.5 metres high.

Butler, J., 1991, Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities: Volume Two - The North, 221, 246, Map 43, Site '15' (Monograph). SDV219155.

Homerton Hill Cairn Cemetery at SX561905 with circa 20 cairns of between 3.0 metres to 7.0 metres diameter by 0.2 metres to 0.5 metres high. All the cairns have been dug into. Curious features are the curved banks running through the cairnfield which are presumably of prehistoric date.

English Heritage, 1994, Schedule note (Schedule Document). SDV230529.

(20/09/1994) SX56179046 Ten Cairns and a length of bank were found at this location forming part of a Cairnfield situated on a gentle north west facing slope of Homerton Hill overlooking the valley of the West Okement River. The Cairns and bank are of Bronze Age date.

Francis, P., 2002, Okehampton Artillery Range (Report - Survey). SDV359222.

Probert, S. A. J. + Newman, P., 2003-2004, Measured survey North Dartmoor Military Range Okehampton Range: Monument Baseline Condition Survey (Report - Survey). SDV350801.

(28/01/2004) Clearance cairns and enclosure bank (record 1393507).
SX 56189049. The hut circle remains as a terraced platform 4.3m in diameter enclosed by a crude stony ring 0.8m wide and 0.25m high. There is no obvious entrance.
Adjoining the hut is a turf-covered stony bank forming part of the associated field system which covers an area of approximately 2.0 hectares. The boundaries of this system vary from large, well-defined banks 2.0m wide and 0.6m high to barely discernible rickles in the ground.
At least twenty small clearance cairns are visible in the immediate area, several of which sit upon or at the end of the enclosure banks. These features measure between 2.0m to 5.2m in diameter and stand a maximum of 0.8m high. Several appear to have been confused with sepulchral monuments in the past and display shallow delvings in their tops. When combined with the incomplete nature of the field system the cairns suggest that the phase of enclosure in this area occurred in the later prehistoric period and remained unfinished. Somewhat unusually for Dartmoor the field system encloses an earlier prehistoric ring cairn (967741).

Probert, S. A. J. + Newman, P., 2003-2004, Measured survey North Dartmoor Military Range Okehampton Range: Monument Baseline Condition Survey (Report - Survey). SDV350801.

Probert, S. A. J. + Newman, P., 2003-2004, Measured survey North Dartmoor Military Range Okehampton Range: Monument Baseline Condition Survey (Report - Survey). SDV350801.

Wessex Archaeology, 2010, Okehampton Range, Dartmoor Training Area, Devon: archaeological monument condition survey (Report - Survey). SDV364223.

Historic England, 2021-2022, NRHE to HER website, Accessed 03/12/2021 (Website). SDV364039.

Parent record created covering a number of previous records.

Historic England, 2024, National Heritage List for England, 1010773 (National Heritage List for England). SDV365835.

This monument includes ten cairns and a length of bank forming part of a cairnfield situated on a gentle north west facing slope of Homerton Hill overlooking the valley of the West Okement River. Other cairns and an enclosure lie in the immediate vicinity and these are covered by separate schedulings. Six of the mounds in this monument are sub-circular in shape and these range in size from 2.6 metres to 6 metres in diameter and stand between 0.3 metres and 0.8 metres high. The remainder are ovoid in shape, and these range between 3.5 metres and 7 metres long, 2.2 metres and 4 metres wide and stand between 0.4 metres and 0.6 metres high. The average height of all the mounds is 0.47 metres. Three cairns have a shallow hollow in the centre of the mound, suggesting robbing or partial early excavation. Some of the cairns may contain burials, but the group most likely represents stone clearance connected with cultivation of the area. A 38 metres long, 2.7 metres wide and 0.4 metres high curved bank lying amongst the cairns may represent part of a field or enclosure which would have originally been more extensive and now survives largely as a buried feature.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV8679 - Okehampton Range: Management Survey
• EDV8291 - Okehampton Range: Monument Baseline Condition Survey
• EDV8695 - Survey of Okehampton North Dartmoor Military Range
• EDV7620 - Okehampton Artillary Range

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