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Summary

Limsboro cairn originally of 22.5 metres diameter on Lynch Tor but now only 14.3 metres diameter as stones have been piled on the rock outcrop to a height of 1.7 metres. Site also of a military flag pole

Location

Protected Status

• SHINE: Limsboro' Tumulus surrounding a rock outcrop on Lynch Tor

Other References/Statuses

• National Record of the Historic Environment: 440633
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX58SE/5
• Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division: SX58SE19

Monument Type(s) and Dates

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

Full description

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

'Tumulus' shown on 19th century map with the Forest boundary running through it from north to south.

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

'Limsboro' (Tumulus)' shown on early 20th century map.

Gover, J. E. B. + Mawer, A. + Stenton, F. M., 1931, The Place-Names of Devon: Part One, 195 (Monograph). SDV1312.

"In 1608 (Dartmoor) the spot is called Luntesborowe, i.e. 'tumulus of some man named Lunt', a name which is apparently preserved in Limsbarrow, a tumulus on the tor".

Royal Air Force, 1947, RAF/CPE/UK/1995, 4377 (Aerial Photograph). SDV224714.

Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, 1950, SX58SE19, SX58SE19 (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV214755.

(02/10/1950) A very large collection of stones and granite blocks surrounding a natural outcrop of granite. At the north and east sides the structure has almost entirely disappeared, the material having been used in construction of shelters now ruined, which are close by. The condition of the feature is poor and the stones are spread over a wide area.

Grinsell, L. V., 1978, Dartmoor Barrows, 144 (Article in Serial). SDV273224.

Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, 1979, SX58SE19 (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV214757.

(16/10/1979) A typical 'tor cairn' where a rock outcrop 3.5m high has been piled about with stones to a height of 1.7m. Originally this was probably lower since stones have been gathered and the cairn 'restored', possibly by the military. The original diameter was 22.5m, denoted by stones protruding from the turf; the present diameter is 14.3m.
Surveyed at 1:10 000 on MSD. See ground photographs.

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

Visible on 1947 aerial photograph.

Butler, J., 1991, Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities: Volume Two - The North, 105, 241, Map 32, Site 18 (Monograph). SDV219155.

Limsboro cairn at SX56548053 of 15.0 metres diameter by 2.5 metres high. Limsboro or Lunts Barrow is one of the few cairns to have a personal name. It is a boundary point of the Forest first included in the 1608 Perambulation. It was visited in 1802 and described as 'an immense heap of stones with a little cavity in the top, in the centre is a large stone'. Much material has been since removed and the 'large stone' now rests on the tor rocks well above the remaining stones. These are loosely piled around the base of the little tor in a structureless fashion sharing the summit with a firing range flagpole.

Royal Commission for the Historical Monuments of England, 1993-1998, Dartmoor Royal Forest Project (Report - Survey). SDV346608.

(21/08/1995) Centred SX 56578054. The cairn is generally as described in 1979 though several recent delvings and drystone constructions have taken place within the fabric of the monument. the protruding stones recorded in 1979 indicate a slightly ovoid mound measuring 23.5m N to S by 22m.

Newman, P., 2004, Merrivale Range Baseline Condition Survey (Report - Survey). SDV346874.

(10/08/2004) As described in 1995. Condition is fair but risk of disturbance continues.

English Heritage, 2005-2008, Prehistoric Survey Information (Cartographic). SDV345521.

Cairn shown on survey.

Bluesky International Ltd/Getmapping PLC, 2015-2017, 2015-2017 Aerial Photographs (Aerial Photograph). SDV361462.

Visible on aerial photograph.

Ordnance Survey, 2023, Mastermap 2023 (Cartographic). SDV365227.

'Limsboro' Tumulus' shown on modern mapping.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments: none recorded

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV7441 - Condition survey of the archaeological sites of Merrivale Training Area
• EDV7570 - Condition survey of Merrivale Range training area
• EDV8409 - Dartmoor Royal Forest Project
• EDV8713 - Merrivale Range: Monument Baseline Condition Survey

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