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Summary

Butterdon Hil stone row cairn '1' (Butler) is a low cairn measuring 8 metres by7 metres and 0.3 metres in height, with a retaining circle of 15 stones of circa 11 metres diameter at the southern end of the Butterdon Hill stone row.

Location

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument 1012486: Butterdon Hill stone alignment and cairn

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: SX65NE66 SX 65 NE 66
• National Record of the Historic Environment: 441240 441240
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX65NE/13
• Old SAM County Ref: 310

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• CAIRN (Constructed, Bronze Age - 2200 BC (Between) to 701 BC (Between))
• STONE CIRCLE (Constructed, Bronze Age - 2200 BC (Between) to 701 BC (Between))

Full description

Ordnance Survey, 1880-1899, First Edition Ordnance 25 inch map (Cartographic). SDV336179.

'Pile of Stones' shown on 19th century map.

Ordnance Survey, 1904 - 1906, Second Edition Ordnance Survey 25 inch Map (Cartographic). SDV325644.

'Tumulus' and 'Pile of Stones' is marked on the early 20th century (1906) historic map.

Falcon, T. A., 1905, Dartmoor: A Note on Graves, 460 (Article in Serial). SDV255372.

Crossing, W., 1912 (1965), Crossing's Guide to Dartmoor, 395 (Monograph). SDV320981.

Worth, R. H., 1941, Retaining Circles Associated with Stone Rows, Dartmoor, 229 (Article in Serial). SDV251083.

Worth, R. H., 1946, The Stone Rows of Dartmoor. Part 1, 287 (Article in Serial). SDV251172.

Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, 1950, SX65NE66, SX65NE66 (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV175965.

Butterdon Hill. Stone circle surrounding cairn on north-east side of top of hill. All the stones but one are fallen and now form an irregular outline of about twelve stones. Largest stone, on the west side, is 1.9 metres long and at least six are 1.5 metres long and more and of a tapered shape. One stone on the east side leans above the ground. The stone row, at the south end of which the circle is situated, does not point to the centre of the circle but passes some 0.9 metres to the west (Worth).
A low cairn within a retaining circle of stones is situated at SX 65635881, at the south end of the Butterdon stone row (SX 65 NE 17), with which it is associated. The circle is 11 metres in diameter, and consists of twelve stones, all now recumbent, although when Worth wrote in 1941, one was erect and three were leaning. Some of the stones are unusually large. The cairn is 9 metres in diameter by 0.3 metre high, with a hollow
in the centre.
A barrow from which the kistvaen has been removed, within a ruined retaining circle, on the northern slope of Butterdon Hill (Grinsell).

Worth, R. H., 1967, Worth's Dartmoor, 205 (Monograph). SDV337618.

Davidson, C. + Seabrook, R., 1973, Stone Rings on south-east Dartmoor, 25, plan (Article in Serial). SDV345864.

A low cairn within a retaining circle of stones is situated at SX 6563 5881, at the south end of the Butterdon stone row (SX 65 NE 17), with which it is associated. The circle is 11 metres in diameter, and consists of twelve stones, all now recumbent, although when Worth wrote in 1941, one was erect and three were leaning. Some of the stones are unusually large.
The cairn is 9 metres in diameter by 0.3 metre high, with a hollow in the centre.

National Monument Record, 1976, SX6558, 2/240-244 (Aerial Photograph). SDV166651.

Grinsell, L. V., 1978, Dartmoor Barrows, 140, Harford 16 (Article in Serial). SDV273224.

(23/06/1973) On the Ugborough boundary. SX 6563 5881 Mound measures 9m in diameter, height 0.3m, retaining circle measures 11m, by 0.3m high. Cairn with hollow centre.

Hemery, E., 1983, High Dartmoor, 254 (Monograph). SDV249702.

A barrow from which the kistvaen has been removed, within a ruined retaining circle, on the northern slope of Butterdon Hill.

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

It is not clear from the National Monuments Record 1976 aerial photograph that this cairn lies within a stone circle.

Ancient Monuments, 1987, Schedule notes (Schedule Document). SDV150117.

Cairn (diameter 6.10m, height 0.6m) on the north-east side of Butterdon Hill; on the top of the hill at the south end of Butterdon Stone Row. Lies within a circle of fallen orthostats (10.67m in diameter). Has become overgrown and several stones are scattered.

Turner, J. R., 1990, Ring Cairns, Stone Circles and Related Monuments on Dartmoor, 54, 78/f8 (Article in Serial). SDV229817.

Encircled cairn. Ring of orthostats 11.1m diameter around cairn 7m in diameter and 0.3m high. Aligned east of centre of single stone row.

Butler, J., 1993, Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities: Volume Four - The South-East, 24, Map 53, Figures 53.7 and 53.7.1 (Monograph). SDV337765.

'Butterdon Hill stone row cairn '1' at SX65635880 of circa 11 metres diameter by 0.6 metres high. At the south end of the stone row is a substantial cairn of 8.0 metres diameter despite the central pit and possibly covering more than one inner ring of slabs. Well outside its base the mound is surrounded by a ring of larger slabs about 11 metres across several of them completely buried and the rest fallen or nearly so. Instead of meeting the outer ring symetrically the alignment takes its origin about a metre west of the cairn centre.

Department of National Heritage, 1996, Letter (Correspondence). SDV150130.

Consent granted for works concerning the infilling of various erosion hollows and the re-erection of fallen stone, with archaeological excavation of socket hollow prior to re-erection (10/04/1996).

Various, 2018-2020, PALs Condition Recording forms, UG27 (Worksheet). SDV362781.

(05/09/2019) Condition assessed as good; slight impact from gorse growth noted.

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

Image taken during September 2019 visit.

Historic England, 2019, National Heritage List for England, 1012486 (National Heritage List for England). SDV362730.

The Butterdon Hill single stone alignment runs for over 2km along the ridge between Butterdon Hill and Piles Hill and is the second longest stone alignment on Dartmoor. The stones are up to a metre in height and are spaced at intervals of 1m to 1.5m. There is a cairn 10.5m in diameter and 0.3m in height, with a retaining kerb at the southern end of the alignment and a recumbent stone, 2.56m in length, known as the Longstone, which is considered to have been the northern terminal. One stone in the row c.300m south of this northern terminal has a cross incised on its west face and is known as Hobajon's Cross. The line has been adopted as the Harford Moor/ Ugborough Moor Common Land boundary and includes introduced modern boundary stones.

Ordnance Survey, 2020, MasterMap 2020 (Cartographic). SDV363413.

'Stone Circle' shown on modern mapping.

Riley, H., 2021, Archaeological Survey: Ugborough Premier Archaeological Landscape, Harford and Ugborough, 12 (Report - Survey). SDV364697.

One of fifty round cairns recorded during survey.

Riley, H., 2021, UG21 heritage asset database and gazetteer of sites (Report - Survey). SDV364699.

Visited on 21st January 2021, Surveyed and photographed. Small cairn at south end of Butterdon Hill stone row: 8 metres north to south , 7 metres east to west, 0.3 metres high, surrounded by 15 recumbent stone slabs. Well-trodden path along Butterdon Hill stone row runs close to west side of cairn.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events: none recorded

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