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Summary

Corringdon Ball stone rows; six or seven rows of small stones. Originally thought by R. N. Worth (1892) and Crossing (1912/1965) described as a sevenfold row, but later argued by Handsford Worth (1946) to be two treble rows. Rows lie to the south-east of the northernmost, single row. See separate records for detail.

Location

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument 1013031: Multiple stone alignment and associated cairns west of Glasscombe Upper Plantation
• SHINE: Earthwork and structural remains of the Corringdon Ball complex; three stone rows and a number of prehistoric cairns on Ugborough Moor

Other References/Statuses

• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX66SE/3
• Old SAM County Ref: 371
• Old SAM Ref: 10569
• SHINE Candidate (Yes)

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• STONE ALIGNMENT (Neolithic - 4000 BC to 2201 BC (Between))

Full description

Lukis, W. C. + Pode, J. D., 1880, Unpublished 'Plan of two Monuments on the Moor outside Glazecombe Moor Wall between the East and West Glazebrooks, Dartmoor', 21 (Plan - measured). SDV142516.

Worth, R. N., 1892, The Stone Rows of Dartmoor (Article in Serial). SDV237176.

Crossing, W., 1912 (1965), Crossing's Guide to Dartmoor, 380 (Monograph). SDV320981.

Worth, R. H., 1946, The Stone Rows of Dartmoor. Part 1, 312-314, Plate 40 (Article in Serial). SDV251172.

Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, 1950, SX66SE43 (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV350960.

Worth, R. H., 1967, Worth's Dartmoor, 231-2 (Monograph). SDV337618.

It was usual to describe this as a seven or eightfold row. Surveyed in 1946 revealing one single and two treble rows, with two stones clear of all the rows, but pointing directly to the centre of the retaining circle which heads the two treble rows. Rows numbered:57, 58 and 59.

Davidson, C. + Seabrook, R., 1973, Stone Rings on south-east Dartmoor, 26, plan (Article in Serial). SDV345864.

National Monuments Record, 1977, SX6660, 6/309 (Aerial Photograph). SDV176911.

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

Emmett, D. D., 1979, Stone Rows: The Traditional View Reconsidered, 106, 111 (Article in Serial). SDV251087.

Robinson, R. + Greeves, T. A. P., 1981, Two Unrecorded Prehistoric Multiple Stone Rings, Glasscombe, Ugborough, South Dartmoor (Article in Serial). SDV142714.

Griffith, F. M., 1984, DAP/CW, 9 (Aerial Photograph). SDV320796.

Robinson, R., 1984, List of Field Monument Warden Visits 1984 (Un-published). SDV343082.

Site visit 12th June 1984.

Ancient Monuments, 1990, Scheduling documentation (Schedule Document). SDV312418.

Corringdon Ball stone rows. Six or seven rows of small stones approximately 75 metres long, terminating at the east end in a small semi-circular stone setting of five stones, none more than 500 millimetres high, and the alignments are irregular - they run along the contours. Situated on the open moor between the East and West Glaze Brooks. A complicated set of stones which can only be aligned into rows by exact survey. The direction of the rows is approximately south-west.

Robinson, R. + Griffiths, D. + Cosford, J., 1990, The Corringdon Multiple Stone Rows: A Resurvey, 179-185 (Article in Serial). SDV142469.

1990 resurvey shows the multiple rows to extend as far as the single row, itself now traceable for nearly 200 metres. Less complete at south-west end. This is probably a composite sevenfold row rather than a single row and two triples. The convergence of rows towards south-west ends shown on plans of Worth and Lukis and Pode is less clear on 1990 plan; and the bending of multiple rows towards the single row is absent.

Quinnell, N. V., 1995, Comment about features at Corringdon Ball (Personal Comment). SDV142725.

Historic England, 2016, National Heritage List for England (National Heritage List for England). SDV359353.

Multiple stone alignment and associated cairns west of Glasscombe Upper Plantation.
Reasons for Designation: Dartmoor is the largest expanse of open moorland in Southern Britain and because of exceptional conditions of preservation, it is also one of the most complete examples of an upland relict landscape in the whole country. The great wealth and diversity of archaeological remains provides direct evidence for human exploitation of the Moor from the early prehistoric period onwards. The well-preserved and often visible relationship between settlement sites, major land boundaries, trackways, ceremonial and funerary monuments as well as later industrial remains gives significant insights into successive changes in the pattern of land use through time. Stone alignments provide rare evidence of ceremonial or ritual practices on the Moor during the Late Neolithic and Bronze Age. The complex of alignments near Glasscombe Upper Plantation is unusual and particularly significant as it is connected with a group of cairns and the remains of cairns (retaining kerbs) at the north-eastern end and with a further complex of stone settings and cairns on the far bank of the East Glaze Brook. There are also several other settlements and funerary monuments in the vicinity.
Details: Stone alignments or stone rows consist of upright stones set in a single line or in two or more parallel lines, up to several hundred metres in length. They frequently lead to burial monuments such as small cairns, cists and barrows and are therefore thought to have had a ceremonial function. The 70 or so examples known on Dartmoor were probably constructed in the Late Neolithic period (around 2500 BC) This complex of multiple stone alignments, cairns and remains of cairns lies on the west bank of the East Glaze Brook north-west of Glasscombe Upper Plantation. The stone rows follow the main contour and are aligned roughly north-east/south-west, with five cairns at the northern end. There are seven, or possibly eight rows, the possible eighth being represented by two stones 25m apart between the two triple rows and aligned with the centre of their terminal cairn. The northernmost row is single and is 157m in length, with stones standing up to 0.64m in height. The spacing between stones is very irregular, the terminal cairn at the north end is 8m in diameter and 0.5m in height. There are two shorter triple rows south of it, both terminating at the north-eastern end at a cairn retaining kerb, the first triple row is 7.8m in length and the southernmost is 66m in length and again the spacings are irregular. This and the variation in length may be due to robbing for the newtake. The cairn retaining kerb at the north end of the triple rows is a semi-circle 14m in diameter, with five stones up to 0.5m in height. Two sets of concentric rings of stones (retaining kerbs) at the northern end are 14m and 23m in diameter. The adjacent cairn is 8m in diameter and 0.5m in height.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events: none recorded

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