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Summary

Cairn with cist south of Shavercombe Brook of 4 metres diameter by 0.2 metres high with the remains of a retaining circle. The cist is 1.1 metres long by 0.6 metres and 0.6 metres deep with a stone floor

Location

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument 1012211: Cairn with a cist south-east of Shavercombe Tor

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: SX56NE101
• National Record of the Historic Environment: 438788
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX56NE/178
• Old SAM Ref: 10651
• Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division: SX56NE101

Monument Type(s) and Dates

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

Full description

Worth, R. H., 1933, 52nd Report of the Barrow Committee, 84, plate 8, figs. 6-7 (Article in Serial). SDV153704.

Shavercombe, cist C on plan, near the stream. Good specimen, but cover stone missing. One side stone markedly longer than the other. Measures 1.0m by 0.54m by 0.63m deep.

Worth, R. H., 1937, 56th Report of the Barrow Committee, 87, fig. 9 (Article in Serial). SDV20973.

Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, 1950, SX56NE101, Plan (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV153705.

(18/05/1950) There is a retaining circle surrounding the cist of 4.0m diameter. Seven stones remain and all are fallen.

Ordnance Survey, 1953-1969, 1953-1969 National Grid OS A edition imperial, 1954 (Cartographic). SDV352727.

(SX 5691 6588) Cists (NR) (One of a group of five cists).

Grinsell, L. V., 1978, Dartmoor Barrows, 163 (Article in Serial). SDV273224.

(08/06/1974) Cist placed south-east by north-west, cap stone is missing.

Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, 1978, SX56NE101 (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV153708.

(20/12/1978) To the west of Shavercombe Brook, on a north west facing slope at approximately 373.0 m OD is the remains of a cairn with a cist. The cairn is 5.2m in diameter and 0.7m high with the remains of a retaining circle. The cist is 1.1m by 0.6m and 0.6m deep with a stone floor; it is aligned north west by south east. Revised at 1:10 000 on PFD.

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

Not visible on the 1946 verticals aerial photographs.

Turner, J. R., 1990, Ring Cairns, Stone Circles and Related Monuments on Dartmoor, 72, D14 (Article in Serial). SDV229817.

Ring setting measuring 3.7m (internal diameter) around central cist.

Butler, J., 1994, Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities: Volume Three - The South-West, 146, Map 49, Figure 49.22 (Monograph). SDV137656.

Hen Tor 6 cairn at SX59606587 of 4.0 metres diameter by 0.2 metres high with a cist. Although inconspicuous, it remains a good specimen. Capstone has gone but all four side stones remain around cist and most of the stones of the retaining circle appear to remain.

Thackray, C., 1994, The Upper Plym Valley: the management of an historic landscape (Report - non-specific). SDV143510.

Probert, S. A. J. + Fletcher, M. J., 2002, Plym Valley survey (Report - Survey). SDV350782.

(15/01/2002) SX 5960 6589. This feature is broadly as described by the Ordnance Survey (1978) though the height of the cairn has been reduced to 0.2m high. The retaining kerb is 4.9m north-south by 4.7m in diameter and 0.3m high.

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

Cairn shown on survey.

Various, 2018-2020, PALs Condition Recording forms, UPHT-32 (Worksheet). SDV362781.

(16/03/2020) Condition of the cairn assessed as very good, vegetation is not having an impact on the site at this time. Description of the cairn from the HER is impressive but feature blends in to landscape making cist hard to find in tall grass (see photo 1). Description of cist is accurate. At time of survey 150mm of water in cist.

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

Photographs taken during March 2020 visit.

Ordnance Survey, 2021, MasterMap 2021 (Cartographic). SDV364015.

Cairn shown on modern mapping.

Historic England, 2021, National Heritage List for England, 1012211 (National Heritage List for England). SDV364016.

This cairn with a cist lies on a north-west facing slope approximately 400 metres south-east of Shavercombe Tor and 50 metres south of Shavercombe Brook; it is one of several cairns in the immediate vicinity. The mound is 5 metres in diameter and 0.4 metres in height and has a low retaining kerb of at least eight stones up to 0.5 metres wide and 0.2 metres in height. The four slabs of the cist remain in place, the western side slab is 1.6 metres in length and extends beyond the southern end slab, the eastern side slab is 0.8 metres in length and there is a gap at either end between it and the end slabs. The northern end slab is 0.7 metres long, and the southern one is 0.6 metres long with a gap between it and the end slabs. Internally the cist measures 1 metre in length, 0.7 metres in width and 0.6 metres in depth.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV8148 - The Upper Plym Valley: The Management of an Historic Landscape
• EDV8155 - Plym Valley Survey: EH Project (Feb 2001 - Dec 2002)

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