See important guidance on the use of this record.

If you have any comments or new information about this record, please email us.

Summary

Alleged reave - probable military cable trench. The intermittent course of the Rowtor reave recorded by Fleming in the 1980s follows a roughly south-west to north-east course across the northern flank of Rowtor. It is visible as a slight stony bank 1.0 to 1.5m wide and a maximum of 0.5m high. While the major part of this feature runs in a relatively straight line the eastern extremity curves to run west to east before becoming obscured. While resembling a reave the incomplete nature of these remains, their avoidance of the stonier part of the hillside and the prolonged military presence in the area suggests that they represent the course of one or more underground military telephone lines. Many of these are visible across the area occupied by the Ministry of Defence and which are often marked by lines of boulders discarded from the trench which is cut to protect the cables.

Location

Protected Status: none recorded

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: SX59SE27
• National Record of the Historic Environment: 619159
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX59SE/164

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• (Former Type) REAVE (Bronze Age - 2200 BC (Between) to 701 BC (Between))
• TRENCH (XIX to Late 20th Century - 1900 AD (Between) to 1980 AD (Between))

Full description

Fleming, A., 1983, The Prehistoric Landscape of Dartmoor. Part 2: North and East Dartmoor, 236 (Article in Serial). SDV227880.

The Rowtor contour reave to the north of Rough Tor is nearly 2km long and may have been longer, since it is traceable to the west of Moor Brook, or it may be unfinished. It is a boundary of the upland grazing zone, and runs through a cairn cemetery.

Fleming, A., 1988, The Dartmoor Reaves: Investigating Prehistoric Land Divisions, 55; fig 30 (Monograph). SDV229071.

Rowtor Reave. An apparent contour reave nearly 2km long. Starts on a hillside beside a track at SX 602920, although it may once have run south of the east-west brook here. A lynchetted boundary is seen running roughly round the contour in the modern field whose centre is at SX 604919. Runs through cemetery SX59SE/102 at SX 597921. Further west it has been heavily robbed, but crosses Moor Brook at SX 587920 and there are fragments further west. It is unclear whether it was unfinished or comprehensively destroyed.

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

(15/09/2003) SX 59029207 to SX 59479217. The intermittent course of the Rowtor reave follows a roughly south-west to north-east course across the northern flank of Rowtor. It is visible as a slight stony bank 1.0 to 1.5m wide and a maximum of 0.5m high. Occasional granite boulders and slabs protrude through the turf-covered surface. While the major part of this feature runs in a relatively straight line the eastern extremity curves to run west to east before becoming obscured. The western end of this feature cannot be traced to the Moor Brook.
While resembling a reave the incomplete nature of these remains, their avoidance of the stonier part of the hillside and the prolonged military presence in the area suggests that they represent the course of one or more underground military telephone lines. Many of these are visible across the area occupied by the Ministry of Defence and which are often marked by lines of boulders discarded from the trench which is cut to protect the cables.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments: none recorded

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV7620 - Okehampton Artillary Range
• EDV8679 - Okehampton Range: Management Survey
• EDV8291 - Okehampton Range: Monument Baseline Condition Survey
• EDV8695 - Survey of Okehampton North Dartmoor Military Range

Search results generated by the HBSMR Gateway from exeGesIS SDM Ltd.