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Summary

The southern of two closely located round cairns on the western ridge of Ringmoor Down. The cairn has a maximum diameter of 22.5m and stands to a maximum height of 1.34m and is completely turf covered. The mound has been reduced and hollowed as a result of robbing, giving it an undulating appearance, and creating a seasonal, rush-filled pool in its centre. It was later incorporated into a medieval boundary bank with ditch running approximately west to east. Surveyed in April 2022.

Location

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument 1012254: Cairn south-east of Ringmoor Cottage

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: SX56NE59
• National Record of the Historic Environment: 438668
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX56NE/14
• Old SAM County Ref: 568
• Old SAM Ref: 10586

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• 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.

Southern of two 'Tumuli' shown on 19th century map.

Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, 1950/1977, SX56NE59, Cairn B, Plan (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV256851.

(27/08/1950) Cairn 'B'. One of two turf covered cairns. Shallow depression in centre. Diameter 21.5 metres by 1.0 metres high.
(18/04/1977) Two cairns situated on the plateau of Ringmoor Down at 300m OD. Both have their stone content obscured by a layer of earth and turf and have suffered from military and other depredations.
B: Flat-topped 22.0m overall diameter and 0.4m high ; a similar bank about the rim is 4.0m wide and 0.2m high.
These banks appear to be original features and suggest some sort of variation of a ring cairn.
Surveyed at 1:10 000 on PFD.

Grinsell, L. V., 1978, Dartmoor Barrows, 166 (Article in Serial). SDV273224.

Visited on 28th July 1972. Cairn, hollow towards centre, in pasture. Diameter 21.5 metre, height 0.7 metres.

National Monuments Record, 1978, NMR SX5666, 1/145 (Aerial Photograph). SDV254609.

Photograph taken on 20th May 1977.

Robinson, R., 1983, List of Field Monument Warden Visits (Site Visit). SDV114314.

Visited on 7th August 1983.

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

Cairn incorporated into field boundary.

Butler, J., 1994, Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities: Volume Three - The South-West, 144-5, Map 49, Figure 49.21 (Monograph). SDV137656.

Ringmoor Down cairn '7' at SX56026619 of 24.0 metres diameter by 1.2 metres high is the southern of two cairns sited prominently on the ridge with a spectacular outlook to the west. Both are hollowed at the centre and later became the focus of ditched banks forming the boundary of medieval enclosures based on the prehistoric reave.

Probert, S., 2005, Ringmoor Training Area: Monument Baseline Condition Survey (Report - Survey). SDV363484.

(14/02/2005) SX 56026619 and SX 56036625. The remains of two disturbed cairns on the crest of Ringmoor Down. The dimensions of these features are as given by Authority 2 and they remain in a stable condition. Neither displays evidence suggesting the former presence of either cist or kerb. Both mounds have been badly disturbed by later activities. They have been robbed to provide material for the medieval field system in the immediate area, in particular the banks that bisect both mounds. Tinworking in the area has also impinged on the sides of both features and some of the delvings may have been reused by the military for training purposes.

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

Visible on aerial photograph.

Various, 2018-2020, PALs Condition Recording forms, UPRM-1 (Worksheet). SDV362781.

(05/06/2019) Condition assessed as very good; some evidence of military use of this cairn (number cartridges in depression in cairn), but otherwise thought to be stable.

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

Feature photographed in June 2019.

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

Southern of two 'Cairns' shown on modern mapping.

Historic England, 2021, National Heritage List for England, 1012254 (National Heritage List for England). SDV364016.

This cairn lies on the brow of Ringmoor Down, approximately 90 metres north-west of Eylesbarrow Reave. It is 21 metres in diameter and 0.7 metres in height, with a hollow centre and an uneven surface, suggesting that it has been partly disturbed. It lies within a hundred metres of another cairn and within a few hundred metres of a stone row, cairns and an enclosure.

Newman, P., 2022, Ringmoor Down Premier Archaeological Landscape Dartmoor National Park, Devon. A new survey, Table 1 (Report - Survey). SDV365490.

One of two closely located round cairns on the western ridge of Ringmoor Down. SX 56023 66188. The southern of two closely located round cairns on the western ridge of Ringmoor Down. The cairn has a maximum diameter of 22.5m and stands to a maximum height of 1.34m and is completely turf covered. The mound has been reduced and hollowed as a result of robbing, giving it an undulating appearance, and creating a seasonal , rush-filled pool in its centre. The cairn has prehistoric origins, probably associated with other contemporary ritual and burial monuments in the locale. It was later incorporated into a medieval boundary bank with ditch running approximately west to east. Surveyed at 1:200 scale using GPS, 6 April 2022.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV7443 - Condition survey of archaeological sites in Ringmoor Training Area
• EDV7569 - Condition survey of Ringmoor Down training area
• EDV8227 - Ringmoor Training Area: Monument Baseline Condition Survey
• EDV8917 - Survey of the archaeological features on Ringmoor Down

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