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Summary

Cairn of 7.0 metres diameter by 0.6 metres high on slightly elevated ground between Wild Tor Well and Gallaven Mire. There is no trace of a cist, kerb or reave recorded in 1902.

Location

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument 1010781: Round cairn and enclosure 930m south of Hound Tor

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: SX68NW106
• National Monuments Record: SX68NW44
• National Monuments Record: SX68NW9
• National Record of the Historic Environment: 443705
• National Record of the Historic Environment: 443776
• National Record of the Historic Environment: 969301
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX68NW/2
• Old SAM Ref: 22377

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• (Former Type) CIST (Constructed, Bronze Age - 2200 BC (Between) to 701 BC (Between))
• ROUND CAIRN (Constructed, Bronze Age - 2200 BC (Between) to 701 BC (Between))

Full description

Baring Gould, S., 1902, 8th Report of the Dartmoor Exploration Committee, 164 (Article in Serial). SDV215645.

(July 1902) Cairn with cist, between Watern Tor and Hound Tor. Baring-Gould describes a ruined cairn containing the remains of a cist measuring about 7ft long by 4ft 4ins wide, aligned NW-SE. One side and one end stone remained. The cist enclosed an 18ins deep circular pit containing a little wood charcoal. Two large stones lying close to the cairn were probably used as covers. A short reave extends from the cairn.

Royal Air Force, 1947, RAF/CPE/UK/2082, 4380-1 (Aerial Photograph). SDV221887.

Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, 1950, SX68NW9 (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV239775.

Kist. About a mile north of Watern Tor on a line with Hound Tor. A particularly fine example. Not surveyed by Worth (cites correspondence: Worth, R. H., 07/12/1948).
(16/08/1950) Cairn (remains of). No trace of the cist recorded by Gould (1892) or Worth (1948), the cairn in which the cist was situated is heather covered and measures 8, in diameter, 0.6m high. In good condition, the position as shown on the field sheet.

Grinsell, L. V., 1978, Dartmoor Barrows, 171 (Article in Serial). SDV273224.

(July 1976) SX 62918807 Cairn covered with heather, perhaps undisturbed, diameter 6.7m.
(See SX 68 NW 102 for possible mis-siting of excavation).
(Approximately) SX 6298 8800 A side-slab and an end-slab remained, excavated by Baring-Gould, c.1900. Circular pit in cist contained a little wood charcoal. A short reave extends from the cairn (citing Gould, 1902).
Grinsell records Spooner's visit (17/04/1960) 'Cairn enclosing cist placed south-east by north-west 'about a mile beyond Watern Tor, in a direct line with Hound Tor'.
Grinsell could not locate this cairn in July 1976.

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

Not visible on RAF 1947 aerial photograph.

Gerrard, S., 1990-2002, Monument Protection Programme. Archaeological Item Dataset., MPP 133291 (Report - Survey). SDV277946.

(16/11/1993) Round cairn and enclosure 930 metres south of Hound Tor. Round cairn [MPP 133291] attached to an enclosure [MPP 133292]. Mound measures 8 metres in diameter and stands up to 0.6 etresm high. This cairn is almost certainly the one excavated by the Dartmoor Exploration Committee in 1902, and because there are no earthworks surviving associated with their work, it must be assumed that the excavators reformed the mound into its present smooth outline. Excavation revealed a large cist measuring 2.1 metres by 1.3 metres, which contained a 0.46 metres deep circular pit containing wood charcoal.
There is an element of doubt concerning the correlation of this cairn with the one excavated by the Dartmoor Exploration Committee, because they did not generally backfill sites that they had investigated and because GM Spooner reported visiting the cist in 1960 some 10 years after the Ordnance Survey first described the cairn as complete. It is possible that the cist seen by Spooner was part of the enclosure field boundary to which the cairn is attached.

Butler, J., 1991, Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities: Volume Two - The North, 212, 244, Map 41, Site '6' (Monograph). SDV219155.

Wild Tor N.E. cairn at SX62908810 of 6.5 metres diameter by 0.5 metres high with a cist. The cairn was excavated in 1902 by the Dartmoor Exploration Committee when a very fine 'kistvaen' was recorded. It lies on the saddle of the ridge north-east of Wild Tor with a short bank from the north-north-east curving towards it as described, about 50 ometres long but fading away in the opposite direction. The excavators must have reburied the cist and carefully reformed the mound into its present smooth outline. The cist would have been exceptionally large as the single side and end slabs were 2.2 metres and 1.3 metres long. Two flat stones nearby were assumed to be cover slabs. The excavation showed that a pit about 0.5 metres deep had been dug into the floor of the cist which contained a small amount of wood charcoal.

English Heritage, 1994, Schedule notes (Schedule Document). SDV239777.

(20/09/1994) SX62878812 A round cairn and an enclosure were recorded at this location situated on a gentle E facing slope overlooking Gallaven Mire. The cairn and enclosure are contemporary and date to the Bronze Age.

Probert, S. A. J. + Newman, P., 2003-2004, Measured survey North Dartmoor Military Range Okehampton Range: Monument Baseline Condition Survey, S. Probert (Report - Survey). SDV350801.

[969301] (23/09/2003) Is a duplicate of 443705.
[443776] (24/09/2004) Is a duplicate of 443705.
[443705] (21/10/2004) SX 62918810. A low turf-covered cairn on slightly elevated ground between Wildtor Well and Gallaven Mire. It measures 7.0m in diameter and stands 0.6m high. There is no evidence to confirm the excavation recorded by Gould (1902) though a some slight poaching by animals is apparent on the NE edge of the mound. There is no trace of a cist or kerb.
The 'reave' approaching the cairn and enclosure noted by English Heritage (1994) is the bank of a post Medieval leat formerly taking water from the Walla Brook around the northern edge of Gallaven Mire.

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

Cairn shown on survey.

Cartographic Engineering, 2006, Dartmoor 2006 1:1250 Aerial Photography (digital) (Aerial Photograph). SDV345590.

Visible on aerial photograph.

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

'Cairn' shown on modern mapping.

Historic England, 2023, National Heritage List for England, 1010781 (National Heritage List for England). SDV365228.

This monument includes a round cairn attached to an enclosure situated on a gentle east facing slope overlooking Gallaven Mire. The cairn mound measures 8 metres in diameter and stands up to 0.6 metres high. This cairn is almost certainly the one excavated by the Dartmoor Exploration Committee in 1902, and because there are no earthworks surviving associated with their work, it must be assumed that the excavators reformed the mound into its present smooth outline. The excavation revealed a large cist measuring 2.1 metres long by 1.3 metres wide, which contained a 0.46 metres deep circular pit containing wood charcoal. The cairn is attached to an enclosure boundary wall which partly surrounds an area measuring 130 metres east to west by 105 metres north to south. Only three sides of the boundary are visible, with the southern side being either never completed or surviving as a buried feature. The eastern length includes a rubble wall measuring 1.4 metres wide and standing up to 0.5 metres high, whilst the northern length survives as a 3 metres wide and 0.5 metres high bank. The western length survives as a lyncheted bank measuring 3.7 metres wide overall, 0.4 metres high on the upslope and 0.8 metres high on the downslope. Field evidence suggests that the cairn and enclosure are contemporary and therefore the enclosure may have served some ritual purpose.

Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, Unknown, SX68NW44 (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV239776.

Discusses whether the above records represent one cairn or two.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV8510 - Excavation at cairn north-east of Wild Tor, Throwleigh
• EDV8409 - Dartmoor Royal Forest Project
• EDV8679 - Okehampton Range: Management Survey
• EDV8291 - Okehampton Range: Monument Baseline Condition Survey
• EDV8695 - Survey of Okehampton North Dartmoor Military Range

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