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Summary

The northernmost of a group of three round cairns is actually oval in shape, 3.5 metres by 2.3 metres, possibly the result of being cut through by a leat. It contains one of the smallest in situ cists on Dartmoor

Location

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument 1010782: Three round cairns 370m ENE of Down Tor
• SHINE: Earthwork and structural remains of a section of the late 18th century Devonport Leat running from Raddick Hill to Nun's Cross, including extensive tinning remains at Cramber Tor

Other References/Statuses

• MPP Archaeological Item Dataset: 133340
• National Monuments Record: SX56NE127
• National Record of the Historic Environment: 438861
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX56NE/174/1
• Old SAM Ref: 24051
• Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division: SX56NE127
• Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division: SX56NE204

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• CIST (Constructed, Early Neolithic to Late Bronze Age - 4000 BC to 701 BC (Between))
• ROUND CAIRN (Constructed, Early Neolithic to Late Bronze Age - 4000 BC to 701 BC (Between))

Full description

Birkett Dixon, C. E., 1958, 73rd Report on Barrows, 230, 232, Figs. 43, 46 (Article in Serial). SDV251324.

Group of five [sic] kistvaens situated in the valley of the Newleycombe Lake. The two largest kistvaens are spaced 37 feet 6 inches apart centre to centre; the smallest lies to the nroth of them, 12 feet from the western and 35 feet from the eastern.
108. Northern. The smallest Dartmoor kistvaen in situ and one of the smallest known; 12 inches wide, 21 inches deep. The south-west sidestone is 27 inches long. The opposite sidestone and the north-western endstone lean inwards. The other endstone and the cap stone are missing.

Grinsell, L. V., 1978, Dartmoor Barrows, 99, 175 (Article in Serial). SDV273224.

Site visit 2nd September 1975. Oval cairn on an east-west axis enclosing a cist placed south-east to north-west. 3.25 metres by 2.3 metres diameter, 0.3 metres high. The south-eastern slab is now visible.

Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, 1979, SX56NE127 (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV251327.

(02/04/1979) At SX 58386956 on the lower north-facing slopes of Down Tor at 323.0m. O.D. is a group of three cists. Dixon said five, but this was almost certainly a typescript or printers error he describes three, which is what there are.
The northern cist (Dixon's No. 108) consists of two sidestones and one endstone. It measures only 0.4m. by 0.3m. internally and is 0.2m. deep. The sidestones are 0.7m. long. On the north side of the cist are two possible retaining stones protruding from the earth. The orientation is 303 dregrees east of Grid North.
Surveyed at 1:10 000 on P.F.D. and at 1:100 for A.O, Records.

Hemery, E., 1983, High Dartmoor, 147 (Monograph). SDV249702.

Between an enormous boulder and the shoulder of the hill are three kistvaens discovered by R. C. Carpenter in 1958. Not only are they notable as a group but the northernmost is the smallest known in situ on the Moor.

Gerrard, S., 1990-2002, Monument Protection Programme. Archaeological Item Dataset., MPP133340, 24/05/1994 (Report - Survey). SDV277946.

Site visit 24th May 1994. Round cairn containing a cist. Cairn survives as an oval mound measuring 3.5 metres by 2.3 metres and contains on of the smallest in situ cists on Dartmoor. The cist measures 0.53 metres by 0.3 metres by 0.53 metres deep and is orientated south-east to north-west. The cairn has seen limited damage as a result of a leat being cut through part of it. This may explain the oval shape of the mound.

Butler, J., 1994, Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities: Volume Three - The South-West, 72-74, Map 47, Figure 47.10 (Monograph). SDV137656.

Hingston Hill North cairn '1' at SX58386956 of 3.0 metres diameter by 0.3 metres high with a cist. The very small overgrown cist was originally covered by a slight mound and might have remained concealed but for the tinners' leat cutting across the base of the cairn close to the stones. Its contents have been shovelled out to the west burying the retaining circle and one end stone of the cist which was visible in 1975 has gone along with the cover slab.

Wessex Archaeology, 2002, Cramber Tor Training Area Rapid Condition Survey (Report - Survey). SDV354588.

Cramber Tor Survey 2002, Sites WA066, WA074, WA075.

Newman, P., 2006, Cramber Tor Training Area Archaeological Field Investigation (Report - Survey). SDV233640.

(01/08/2006) A group of three small disturbed round cairns, each containing a cist revealed by partial un-recorded excavation, located within a north facing valley, 350 metres east-north-east of Down Tor. Under threat from gorse encroachment. Condition fair, status stable.

Newman, P., 2007, Cramber Tor Training Area Monument Baseline Condition Survey, No. 438861 (Report - Survey). SDV348210.

Probert, S., 2008, Follow-Up Works to Cramber Tor Archaeological Baseline Condition Survey, Dartmoor Training Area, 10, Figs. 12, 13, No. 438861 (Report - Survey). SDV351304.

Three cairns containing cists. This unusual cluster of prehistoric sepulchral monuments was threatened by small scale gorse encroachment which has now been removed.

Greeves, T., 2012, Cramber Tor Training Area. Monument Condition Survey, No. 438861 (Report - Survey). SDV350251.

Site visit 2nd February 2012. Condition and stability good. Gorse has been cleared. Resprouting should be monitored.

Ordnance Survey, 2013, MasterMap (Cartographic). SDV350786.

'Cairns & Cists' marked.

English Heritage, 2013, National Heritage List for England, 1010782 (National Heritage List for England). SDV350785.

Three round cairns 370 metres east-north-east of Down Tor. This monument includes three small round cairns, each containing a cist revealed by partial excavation, situated within a north facing valley lying between Down Tor and Hingston Hill, overlooking the valley of Newleycombe Lake. The third cairn lies immediately to the north and is separated from the western mound by a leat which measures 0.8 metres wide and 0.2 metres deep. The cairn survives as an oval mound measuring 3.5 metres long by 2.3 metres wide, and contains one of the smallest in situ cists on Dartmoor. The cist measures 0.53 metres long by 0.3 metres wide and 0.53 metres deep, and is orientated south-east to north-west.

Various, 2018-2020, PALs Condition Recording forms, WLK-DT11 (Worksheet). SDV362781.

Visited 12/07/2019. Gorse outcrops around cist on W part of cairn and tussocky grass on E part of cairn. Photo taken

Various, 2018-2020, PALs Condition Recording photographs, WLK-DT11 (Photograph). SDV363073.

Visited 12/07/2019. Photo showing the centre of the small cist showing the tussocky grass over the east part of the cairn. Looking north north west

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV6153 - Monument Baseline Condition Survey in the Cramber Tor Training Area
• EDV6034 - Monument Condition Survey in Cramber Tor Training Area
• EDV6152 - Follow-up Works to Threatened Sites in the Cramber Tor Training Area
• EDV7382 - Condition Survey of the Cramber Tor Training Area
• EDV8351 - Walkhampton Premier Archaeological Landscape; Field Investigation Project

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