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Summary

A disturbed cairn and cist. The cairn measures 7.8 metres north-south by 7.7 metres and largely buried stones in the northern margin are suggestive of a retaining kerb. The centre of the cairn has been disturbed exposing a well-preserved cist, 1.1 metres long, 0.52 metres wide and 0.43 metres deep. The coverstone has been displaced to the north-east and the excavated spoil lies to the north-west of the cairn.

Location

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument 1015739: Platform cairn and cist 80m south east of Calveslake Tor

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: SX66NW12
• National Record of the Historic Environment: 441597
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX66NW/9
• Old SAM Ref: 10706

Monument Type(s) and Dates

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

Full description

Ordnance Survey, 1880-1899, First Edition Ordnance 25 inch map (Cartographic). SDV336179.

'Kistvaen (Remains of)' shown on 19th century map.

Worth, R. H., 1890, 12th Report of the Barrow Committee, 52 (Article in Serial). SDV346007.

Worth, R. H., 1900, 19th Report of the Barrow Committee, 53 (Article in Serial). SDV231259.

A perfect, well constructed cist at Calveslake. Length, 3ft 7inches; width at north end,1ft 7 1/2 inches; at south end, 1ft 9inches, depth to floor, 2ft 7inches. An irregular shaped cover-stone overhangs the eastern end of the cist. The barrow in which the cist stands has a diameter of 18feet. There is no stone circle. Finds include a flint arrow-head, tanged but not barbed, three flint flakes, a quartz crystal but no pottery.

Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, 1950, SX66NW12, plan, photo (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV162937.

(12/05/1950) Worth's detail quoted. Excavation yielded a well-crafted single flint arrowhead, 27mm by 17mm, tanged but not barbed. No pottery was found, but three rough flint flakes in addition to the arrowhead and a quartz crystal were discovered.

Grinsell, L. V., 1978, Dartmoor Barrows, 162 (Article in Serial). SDV273224.

(18/09/1974) cairn enclosing cist placed north-west at Calveslake tor. Excavated by r. H. Worth, tanged flint arrowhead, three flint flakes and a quartz crystal found. Diameter 9.0m, height 0.7m.

Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, 1978, SX66NW12 (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV162932.

(12/9/1978) On a north-east slope at about 400.0m. OD. is a turf-covered cairn measuring 9.5m. in diameter and 0.7m. high. Centrally placed within the cairn is a fine cist, as planned by Worth. (See also 1:100 plan).
Surveyed at 1:10 000 on PFD.

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

Barrow visible and recorded.

Gerrard, S., 1990-2002, Monument Protection Programme. Archaeological Item Dataset., MPP 140512 (Report - Survey). SDV277946.

(12/06/1996) SX 60876754. Platform cairn containing a cist is situated on a north west facing slope overlooking the valley of the River Plym [1]. The cairn and cist form part of a dispersed group of funerary monuments.
The cairn mound measures 7m in diameter, stands up to 1m high and is surrounded by a 2m wide and 0.3m high berm. The cairn has been excavated to reveal a cist orientated north-west to south-east, although its northern side is still partially covered by a large cover slab, which measures 1.9m long by 1.2m wide. The interior of the cist measures 1.1m long, 0.53m in width at the south east end tapering to 0.5m wide at the north west end.
A fine tanged arrowhead, three flint flakes and a quartz crystal were found during excavation in 1899. The edge of the cairn is denoted on part of the western side by edge set stones which indicate the presence of a kerb which may survive elsewhere as a buried feature. A mound lying about 30m south-south-east of the cairn is the result of badger disturbance.

Butler, J., 1994, Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities: Volume Three - The South-West, 154, 212, Map 50, Figure 50.3 (Monograph). SDV137656.

Calveslake Tor cairn at SX60866754 of 8.0 metres diameter by 0.8 metres high with a cist.The large capstone has been pushed aside but still overhangs the cavity. The quantity of material shovelled downhill by the cairn diggers shows that the mound was originally designed to be conspicuous. The upcast covers most of the ring of small stones around its base. Worth re-excavated the cist, all four sides being in place, recovering a tanged flint arrowhead along with some flakes and a quartz crystal.

Robertson, J. G., 1994, The Archaeology of the Upper Plym Valley (Post-Graduate Thesis). SDV139549.

Depicted and described by Robertson.

Thackray, C., 1994, The Upper Plym Valley: the management of an historic landscape, 304-5/102.1176 (Report - non-specific). SDV143510.

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

(22/08/2001) SX 60876755. A disturbed cairn and cist on the gently sloping N flank of Little Gnats Head. The cairn measures 7.8m N to S by 7.7m and largely buried
stones in the N margin are suggestive of a retaining kerb. The centre of the cairn has been disturbed exposing a well-preserved cist, 1.1m long, 0.52m wide and 0.43m deep. The coverstone has been displaced to the NE and the excavated spoil lies to the NW of the cairn.

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

Cairn shown on survey.

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

Visible on aerial photograph with large capstone.

Ordnance Survey, 2022, Mastermap 2022 (Cartographic). SDV364674.

'Cairn' shown on modern mapping.

Historic England, 2022, National Heritage List for England, 1015739 (National Heritage List for England). SDV364675.

Monument includes a platform cairn containing a cist, situated on a north west-facing slope overlooking the valley of the River Plym. The cairn and cist form part of a dispersed group of funerary monuments. The cairn mound measures 7 metres in diameter, stands up to 1 metre high and is surrounded by a berm 2 metres wide and 0.3 metres high. The cairn has been excavated to reveal a cist orientated north-west to south-east, although its northern side is still partially covered by a large cover slab, which measures 1.9 metres long by 1.2 metres wide. The interior of the cist measures 1.1 metres long, is 0.53 metres in width at the south-east end, tapering to 0.5 metres wide at the north-west end. A fine tanged arrowhead, three flint flakes and a quartz crystal were found during excavation in 1899. The edge of the cairn is denoted on part of the western side by edge set stones, indicating the presence of a kerb which may survive elsewhere as a buried feature.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments: none recorded

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV8148 - The Upper Plym Valley: The Management of an Historic Landscape
• EDV8472 - Excavation of a cairn, Calveslake Tor

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