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Summary

Double stone alignment including forty-one visible stones of which eleven have fallen. Other stones probably survive below the ground surface. This row extends from a cairn at the south-west end in an east-north-easterly direction and measures 112.5 metres long. The tallest stones survive at the eastern end and measure 0.5 metres and 1 metres high. The terminal cairn at the western end and a blocking stone at the east indicate that the original length of the alignment survives. Associated with a shorter, single row to the south.

Location

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument 1007422: Two stone alignments and a round cairn 390m NW of Sharpitor

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: SX57SE49
• National Record of the Historic Environment: 440167
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX57SE/27
• Old SAM County Ref: 830
• Old SAM Ref: 22283

Monument Type(s) and Dates

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

Full description

Worth, R. N., 1894, The Stone Rows of Dartmoor. Part 3., 302-3 (Article in Serial). SDV234309.

Stone rows, Sharpitor. Two fragmentary rows a few paces from the Princetown road. A double and a single row. 41 stones in place in the double row.

Crossing, W., 1912 (1965), Crossing's Guide to Dartmoor, 91 (Monograph). SDV320981.

Near the double stone row which ends in a cist, is a single stone row.

Beckerlegge, J. J., 1939, Eighth Report of the Plymouth and District Branch, 181 (Article in Serial). SDV149484.

Worth, R. H., 1946, The Stone Rows of Dartmoor. Part 1, 296, Row no. 24 (Article in Serial). SDV251172.

At the western end the row starts from a cairn, at the east it ends in a blocking stone. Before row was extensively robbed, there should have been 138 stones, there are now 41, of which 11 have fallen. On the eastern slope in the prolongation of the line of the row is a small retaining circle.

Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, 1950, SX57SE49, SX57SE49 (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV272418.

To the west of the stone row is a small cairn, disturbed recently on the eastern side. The south side of the stone row course is not clear for 7 metres, where two fallen stones mark the approximate line of the row. At a distance of 16 metres west to east four stones are on line in the north row, parallel with stones of the south row, and at a distance of 6.05 metres between the rows. The course from thence to the south edge of the pool is marked only by an occasional stone. At 48 metres west to east the double row becomes more obvious and the width between the rows increases by 1.5 metres; this continues for 10 metres. The row then appears to run through bogged land and there is no sign of its presence for a distance of 16 metres where a single stone, presumably of the northern row appears, much overgrown and 0.05 metres in height; from thence the two rows are easily traceable for the rest of its course, which ends with two large end stones and a blocking stone, which appears to have fallen. Total length of the row, west to east from the cairn is 111.5 metres. Condition is fair, though much robbed.
No sign of either of two additional stone rows mentioned earlier, but vast quantity of scattered stone in area (26/8/1950).

Emmett, D. D., 1979, Stone Rows: The Traditional View Reconsidered, 111 (Article in Serial). SDV251087.

Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, 1980, SX57SE118, SX57SE118 Surveyed (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV272541.

(20/05/1980) The cairn is turf-covered and in poor condition it measures 3.8 metres by 3.6 metres in diameter and is 0.3 metres high.
The row appears to retain 43 stones (see plan) including 7 pairs and one turf-covered stone, but since all but two are less than 0.2 metres high and some merely break the turf they may not be entirely coincident with those seen by Worth.
Surveyed at 1:10 000 on MSD and at 1:500 for archaeological records.

Robinson, R., 1982, List of Field Monument Warden Visits 1982 (Un-published). SDV342809.

Visited 27/4/1982 and 20/7/1982.

Robinson, R., 1983, List of Field Monument Warden Visits 1983 (Un-published). SDV345762.

Visited 19/1/1983.

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

Stone row is not visible of Royal Air Force or National Monuments Record aerial photographs.

Robinson, R., 1986, List of Field Monument Warden Visits 1986 (Un-published). SDV345664.

Visited 6/3/1986.

Gibson, A. M. Dr., 1988, Sharpitor Stone Row survey details (Worksheet). SDV272419.

The Sharpitor stone row was resurveyed on the 15/06/1988 following an English Heritage Monument Protection Programme (MPP) visit. The survey aimed to clarify the details of the row(s) as recorded in the Sites and Monuments Record (SMR; now known as the Historic Environment Record, or HER) as Worth recorded a single and double row in 1893 but the Ordnance Survey visit in 1950 could only identify one row with certainty (although Gibson appears unaware of the 1980 Ordnance Survey record of both rows; comment by Griffith, F. M. on worksheet).
During the site visit, a continuation of the double row was noted linking the row to the retaining circle and cist to the east of what was considered to be the terminal and the single row mentioned by Worth was identified.
The complex consists of a double row (A-B) starting at a cairn (A) in the west and ending in a blocking stone (B) at the east. The row has an orientation of 247 degrees from B. The double row continues towards the retaining circle (F) but is less well defined due to an area of severe disturbance. It is nevertheless easily traceable from E.
The single row mentioned by Worth is visible and recorded (see related record).

Gerrard, S., 1990-2002, Monument Protection Programme. Archaeological Item Dataset., 1992 (Report - Survey). SDV277946.

Row is 112.5 metres long. Includes 41 visible stones, of which 11 have fallen. The tallest stones are located at the eastern end, measuring 0.5 metres to 1 metre high.

Turton, S. D., 1993, Archaeological Assessment of SWW Dousland to Rundlestone Water Main, 2 (Report - Assessment). SDV249910.

Butler, J., 1994, Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities: Volume Three - The South-West, 44-5, Map 45, Figure 45.7 (Monograph). SDV137656.

Sharpitor N W '1'. Both rows are in poor shape, unsurprisingly considering their proximity to the road, although Worth’s description indicates that much of the damage had already taken place by the time he recorded them. Both terminals of the double row have survived, fixing its length at 113 metres from the blocking stone to the centre of the cairn. The cairn (measuring 4.5 metres in diameter by 0.3 metres high) has lost its retaining circle and has been dug into in the centre.
The other end of the row is well-defined by a pair of larger slabs in the line of the rows followed by a central cross-set blocking stone 1.2 metres long that has been tipped backwards and is partly overgrown. A few stones at the centre of the west row have been lost to Goatstone Pool on the summit but all are very small, six only exceeding 0.15 metres in height, and no doubt many are simply buried in place. They seem to have increased in size nearer the cairn for three flat slabs here 0.6 – 0.75 metres long are probably also part of the alignment. Unusually the highest point is not at the cairn end, but near the centre of the rows as they cross the summit of the ridge.
Butler does not believe either of the rows were associated with the retaining circle and cist to the north-east of the rows (MDV3769). If the rows continued on the same alignment the double stone row would have passed 6 metres to the north of it and the single row considerably more.

Fletcher, M. J., 2007-2008, Walkhampton Premier Archaeological Landscape; Field Investigation Project (Report - Survey). SDV359195.

(15/05/2007) The cairn and stone row are as described although more stones are hidden by thick moorland turf. The heavily disturbed cairn is up to 5 metres across and 0.3 to 0.4 metres high. Footpaths criss cross the area. Surveyed at 1:2500 scale.

Ordnance Survey, 2016, MasterMap (Cartographic). SDV359352.

'Stone row' is depicted on the modern mapping, with the position of the stones roughly indicated.

Historic England, 2016, National Heritage List for England, Accessed 16/08/2016 (National Heritage List for England). SDV359353.

This monument includes two roughly parallel stone alignments and a round cairn situated on a gently sloping hillside overlooking the valley of the River Walkham. The round cairn stands at the south-western end of two rows of stones, one row arranged in pairs (a double stone alignment), and the other row comprising single stones.
The double stone alignment includes forty-one visible stones of which eleven have fallen. Other stones probably survive below the ground surface. This row extends from the cairn in an ENE direction and measures 112.5m long. The tallest stones survive at the eastern end and measure 0.5m and 1m high. The distance between the stone pairings varies between 2.38m and 1.16m and is generally greater towards the eastern end. The terminal cairn at the western end and a blocking stone at the east indicate that the original length of the alignment survives.
Despite evidence for partial excavation of the cairn and limited robbing of the stone alignments, the two stone alignments and round cairn 390m NNW of Sharpitor survive comparatively well and form an important constituent part of a diverse group of monuments including contemporary settlements, field systems, ritual and other funerary sites.

Newman, P., 2019, An Archaeological Survey of an area of Walkhampton Common, Dartmoor National Park, Devon, Appendix, Figures 4, 6, 7 & 8 (Report - Survey). SDV363478.

A disturbed and fragmented double stone row on the north-west slope of Sharpitor, close by Goadstone Pond. The twin alignments would have measured 110 metres between the south-western terminal cairn (MDV14795) and the blocking stone, which forms the north-east terminal, although no stones are currently visible for 12 metres north-east of the cairn. Twenty-four stones remain earthfast in situ, either upright or at ground level; the tallest stone is 0.4 metres high. Five additional stones are approximately in place but leaning. This is considerably less than the ‘41 visible stones of which 11 have fallen’ mentioned in the HE scheduled monument (SM) description (circa 1992). A number of displaced stones, which may or may not have originally been part of the rows lie recumbent and earthfast adjacent to the axis of the rows. There are also several small patches of exposed granite, all less than 10 square centimetres, within the confines of the monument’s space, though only three of these conform to either alignment. The stones of the two rows were arranged in pairs and the space between the rows based on the few pairs that survive is 1.5 metres. The distance between individual stones within each row is 1.2 metres. A large recumbent blocking stone at the north-east terminal is the largest stone in the monument. It is an approximate trapezium which measures 1.5 metres across the base and would have stood to 0.95 metres high.

Newman, P., 2019, Walkhampton Common Survey data (GIS and Excel Spreadsheet) (Cartographic). SDV363701.

Stones of the row shown on survey.

Edwards, M. + Trick, S., 2021, An Archaeological magnetometer and resistance survey Goadstone Pool North (site B) and South (site C) Stone Rows, 7, figs 2-5 (Report - Geophysical Survey). SDV365149.

The survey in 2021 was successful in detecting and locating anomalies of possible and likely archaeological origin, but was unable to ascertain whether the stone rows continue north-east towards cairn MDV3769, although possible anomalies may indicate buried stones, including one close to the eastern cairn.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV8225 - Survey of an area of Walkhampton CommonSurvey of an area of Walkhampton Common
• EDV8351 - Walkhampton Premier Archaeological Landscape; Field Investigation Project
• EDV8849 - Geophysical survey of the Goadstone Pool Stone Rows (Ref: 2010DAR(B,C)-R-1)

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