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Summary

Terminal reave of the Shaugh Moor parallel reave system. Reave found to be of two main phases; the earliest comprising a ditch alone in wet areas, followed by a ditch, bank, wooden structure (possibly a fence). This was followed by a free-standing timber boundary. Radiocarbon dates extracted during the late 1970s/early 1980s.
The reave is visible as an earthwork bank on aerial photographs of 1946 onwards. Approximately 400m of the south-east end of the visible earthwork was destroyed by clay quarrying in the later 20th century. The remaining bank is identifiable as an earthwork on visualisations derived from lidar data captured in 2013.

Location

Protected Status

• SHINE: Bronze age landscapes on Shaugh Moor and Wooter Moor comprising earthworks and walling of enclosures, hut circles, cairns, stone circles and rows, reaves and field systems, and medieval and post medieval field systems

Other References/Statuses

• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX56SE/115
• Pastscape: 439328
• SHINE Candidate (Yes)

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• REAVE (Middle Bronze Age to Late Bronze Age - 1480 BC to 701 BC (Between)) + Sci.Date

Full description

Ordnance Survey, 1950-1954, Ordnance Survey 25 inch Map (Cartographic). SDV350147.

"Track of old wall" marked on Ordnance Survey 1954 historic map.

Royal Air Force, 1964, RAF/58/6399, RAF/106G/UK/1190 RS 3257-3259 27-FEB-1946 (Aerial Photograph). SDV363068.

A linear bank is visible as an earthwork.

Royal Air Force, 1964, RAF/58/6399, RAF/58/6399 F64 0381-0382 02-JUL-1964 (Aerial Photograph). SDV363068.

A linear bank is visible as an earthwork.

Gawne, E. + Somers Cockes, J. V., 1968, Parallel Reaves of Dartmoor, 282 (Article in Serial). SDV345858.

Royal Commission for the Historical Monuments of England, 1978, NMR 1247, NMR 1247/222-223 31-MAY-1978 (Aerial Photograph). SDV363091.

A linear bank is visible as an earthwork.

National Monuments Record, 1978, NMR SX5563, 3/223 (Aerial Photograph). SDV152488.

Visible on the aerial photograph.

Fleming, A., 1978, The Prehistoric Landscape of Dartmoor. Part 1: South Dartmoor, 97-123 (Article in Serial). SDV235265.

Terminal reave of the Shaugh Moor system. Bronze Age in date.

Devon County Council Conservation Section, 1980, Shaugh Moor (Photograph). SDV146780.

Main Saddlesborough Reave. SX55006363 to SX56376286 partly covered by waste. The south-eastern end of this reave is to be destroyed by clay waste tipping. Selective investigations carried out by doe central excavation unit 1979-1981.

Keeley, H. C. M., 1981, Interim Report on Environmental Work at Shaugh Moor, Devon (Report - Interim). SDV173754.

Smith, K. + Coppen, J. + Wainwright, G. J. + Beckett, S., 1981, The Shaugh Moor Project; Third Report - Settlement and Environmental Investigations, 205-274 (Article in Serial). SDV173752.

Balaam, N. D. + Smith, K. + Wainwright, G. J., 1982, The Shaugh Moor Project: Fourth Report - Environment, Context and Conclusion, 248-50, 268 (Article in Serial). SDV145845.

The results of the soil pollen analysis from the Saddlesborough reave has called into question the dating of some of the pollen assemblage zones established by Dr Beckett in 1979 (published in 1981, Shaugh Moor Project, Third Report).
Reave found to be of two main phases. In Phase one: three types of construction. Ditch alone in wet areas. North-west of bog, ditch, bank, wooden structure (possibly a fence). At the far north-west end a free-standing timber boundary. Radiocarbon date from old land surface beneath bank: 1230 +/-80 BC (radiocarbon years). In phase two: a continuous stone wall was built and the phase one ditch was allowed to silt up. Radiocarbon date from stake: 1390 +/-90 BC (radiocarbon years).

Collis, J., 1983, Field Systems and Boundaries on Shaugh Moor and at Wotter, Dartmoor, 54-5, 60, figs 1, 6. (Article in Serial). SDV144058.

South-east end cut by large china clay quarry, appears to end in area of boggy ground but resistivity survey suggests continues and demonstrated by excavation (see Smith et al 1981). East of the quarry is a much disturbed area of modern enclosures in which there is little hope of tracing the reave if it did continue here. Across Shaugh Moor the reave is fairly substantial, up to 1.0 metre thick and 0.4 - 0.5 metres high. Signs of robbing near to hut circles (MDV2575, 43443 and 43443). Adjacent to the Wotter - Cadover Bridge road there is a cairn (MDV2524) on the line of the reave but it is too disturbed to establish a relationship. West of the road a modern field boundary follows the line of the reave. The reave continues onto Shadon Moor.

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

Recorded on map overlay but no reference.

Fleming, A., 1988, The Dartmoor Reaves: Investigating Prehistoric Land Divisions, 29, 40, 56, figs 5, 22 (Monograph). SDV229071.

Saddlesborough Main reave appears to respect siting of stone row (MDV2434), which is situated on the moorward side of this terminal reave, a not uncommon position.

National Monuments Record, 1998, NMR 18051, NMR 18051/19 19-MAY-1998 (Aerial Photograph). SDV363403.

A linear bank is visible as an earthwork.

Bluesky International Ltd/Getmapping PLC, 1999-2017, Pan Government Agreement Aerial Photographs, Next Perspectives APGB Imagery SX5563, SX5662-SX5663 31-MAY-2016 (Aerial Photograph). SDV363087.

A linear bank is visible as an earthwork.

NERC, 2013, LiDAR DTM data (1m resolution) Tellus: South Devon to Dartmoor, LIDAR SX5563, SX5662-SX5663 Tellus DTM 01-JUL-2013 to 31-AUG-2013 (Cartographic). SDV361514.

A linear bank is visible as an earthwork.

Various, 2018-2020, PALs Condition Recording forms, SM21 (Worksheet). SDV362781.

Visited 04/09/2019. The terminal reave can be seen as a line of bracken on the sky line.
A new path / vehicle track (see map) 2.9meters wide crosses the terminal reave 6meters south east of the reave junction. The path shown on the map crossing the terminal reave to the north west of the junction is as originally marked. Other than the new path crossing the terminal reave, the site appears stable. Photo taken

Various, 2018-2020, PALs Condition Recording photographs, SM21 (Photograph). SDV363073.

Visited 04/09/2019. Photo taken looking south west to show the new path crossing the terminal reave

Hegarty, C., Knight, S. and Sims, R., 2019-2020, The South Devon Coast to Dartmoor Aerial Investigation and Mapping Survey. Area 2, Avon Valley to Plymouth (AI&M, formerly NMP) (Interpretation). SDV362982.

A linear bank approximately 1.5 to 5m in width is visible on aerial photographs of 1946 and 1964 as an earthwork crossing Shaugh Moor for circa 1.4km in an north-west to south-east direction, from a point near the wayside cross (MDV2586) between Shaden Moor and Shaugh Moor at circa SX55266348 to a point 650m south-west of Blackaton Cross (MDV2417) at circa SX56476282.
The bank is not observable as an earthwork in several places, breaks of between 15 and 45m visible with increasing frequency towards end of the bank the south-east of Saddlesborough.
The bank is probably the remains of the Bronze Age land division boundary known as Saddlesborough Reave.
Approximately 400m of the south-east end of the visible earthwork was destroyed by clay quarrying in the later 20th century. The surviving bank is identifiable as an earthwork on digital images derived from aerial photographs of 2007 onwards and visualisations derived from lidar data captured in 2013, including an 85m long section on an island of unexcavated ground south-west of Emmets Post, at SX56316290.
The course of the reave is probably fossilised in the extant field boundary north-west of Shaugh Moor, beyond the survey area, and an earthwork bank visible on Shaden Moor on lidar derived images might support the interpretation that the reave continued further to the north-west.
The Shaugh Moor and Shaden Moor parallel field systems (MDV2590, MDV12904) descend to the south-west from the saddlesborough Reave.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV8098 - The South Devon Coast to Dartmoor Aerial Investigation and Mapping (formerly NMP) Survey, Area 2, Avon Valley to Plymouth (Ref: ACD2040)

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