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Summary

A rabbit bury or pillow mound of probable medieval to post-medieval date has been recorded as an earthwork by field and aerial survey, overlying tin streamworking spoil dumps within the streambed of the Blacka Brook. The mound is identifiable as an earthwork mound on aerial photographs of 1946 onwards and visualisations derived from lidar data captured in 2013.

Location

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument 1014616: Pillow mound 860m SSE of Trowlesworthy Warren House, forming part of Trowlesworthy Warren

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: SX56SE66
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX56SE/198/87
• Old SAM Ref: 24246

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• PILLOW MOUND (Early Medieval to Post Medieval - 1066 AD to 1750 AD (Between))

Full description

Crossing, W., 1912 (1965), Crossing's Guide to Dartmoor, 431 (Monograph). SDV320981.

Royal Air Force, 1946, RAF/3G/TUD/UK/223, RAF/3G/TUD/UK/223 Vp2 5143-5144 12-JUL-1946 (Aerial Photograph). SDV352279.

A mound is visible as an earthwork.

Gerrard, S., 1990-2002, Monument Protection Programme. Archaeological Item Dataset., MPP 130929, 16/3/1995 (Report - Survey). SDV277946.

Survives as a 35 metre by 5.5 metre by 1.4 metres high, flat topped, rectangular shaped mound of soil and stone surrounded by the ditch from which construction material was quarried. This ditch survives as a 2.4 metres wide by 0.7 metres deep hollow along the south side of the mound and as a 1.5 metres wide by 0.2 metre deep gully along the north.
This pillow mound lies on top of an earlier tin streamworking spoil dump and therefore is clearly more recent than the last phase of exploitation in this part of the Blacka Brook. The pillow mound lies parallel to a number of tinworking earthworks and is sitting directly on top of the last dump thrown up within this discrete block of streamworking. The ditch on the south side of the pillow mound is probably larger because it also represents the final work area within this block of streamworking.

Butler, J., 1994, Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities: Volume Three - The South-West, Map 51 (Monograph). SDV137656.

Bluesky International Ltd/Getmapping PLC, 1999-2017, Pan Government Agreement Aerial Photographs, Next Perspectives APGB Imagery SX5763 03-MAY-2007 (Aerial Photograph). SDV363087.

A mound is visible as an earthwork.

NERC, 2013, LiDAR DTM data (1m resolution) Tellus: South Devon to Dartmoor, LIDAR SX5663 Tellus DTM 01-JUL-2013 to 31-AUG-2013 (Cartographic). SDV361514.

A mound is identifiable as an earthwork.

Ordnance Survey, 2015, MasterMap (Cartographic). SDV357601.

Depicted on the modern mapping.

Hegarty, C., Knight, S. and Sims, R., 2019-2020, The South Devon Coast to Dartmoor Aerial Investigation and Mapping Survey. Area 2, Avon Valley to Plymouth (AI&M, formerly NMP) (Interpretation). SDV362982.

An oblong mound approximately 35m long and 6m wide is visible as an earthwork on aerial photographs of 1946 onwards, overlying tin streamworking spoil dumps within the streambed of the Blacka Brook.
The mound is probably the remains of a rabbit bury or pillow mound of medieval to post-medieval date.
The mound is identifiable as an earthwork but is difficult to distinguish from the surrounding linear streamwork earthworks. A linear gulley or ditch is visible on the south-east side of the mound, but this appears to be an eroded drainage ditch extending to the north-east beyond the streambed and may not be directly associated with the pillow mound. No ditch was identifiable on the north-west side of the mound.
The mound remains clearly identifiable on visualisations derived from lidar data captured in 2013.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV7369 - Survey of Granite Loading Bays at Trowlesworthy, Devon
• EDV8148 - The Upper Plym Valley: The Management of an Historic Landscape
• EDV8098 - The South Devon Coast to Dartmoor Aerial Investigation and Mapping (formerly NMP) Survey, Area 2, Avon Valley to Plymouth (Ref: ACD2040)

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