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Summary

Fairly well preserved cairn and cist. The turf-covered cairn is, at maximum, 3.9m in diameter and 0.3m in height. The cist, oriented NW/SE, is approximately 1.3m by 0.55m, and 0.75m deep, and now almost hidden by the SW side stone which has fallen inwards. The NE end stone is not evident but an 0.7m high upright granite post retains part of the mound on this NE side. There is no trace of the coverstone.

Location

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument 1002592: Two cairns with cists E of Whiteworks tin mine buildings

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: SX67SW32
• National Record of the Historic Environment: 443325
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX67SW/41
• Old SAM County Ref: 729B
• Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division: SX67SW32

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• CAIRN (Constructed, Early Neolithic to Late Bronze Age - 4000 BC (Between) to 701 BC (Between))
• CIST (Constructed, Late Neolithic to Late Bronze Age - 3000 BC (Between) to 701 BC (Between))

Full description

Worth, R. H., 1905, 24th Report of the Barrow Committee, 91-2, Plate 3 (Article in Serial). SDV64705.

Two side and north-west end stone remain. Excavated but previously robbed. South-west side has been thrown across cist and leans on the north-east side stone.

Ordnance Survey, 1906, 107SW (Cartographic). SDV336772.

'Kistvaen' shown on early 20th century map.

Breton, H. H., 1912, Beautiful Dartmoor III. Southern Quarter, 15-16 (Monograph). SDV250997.

Anonymous, 1937, Proceedings of the 76th annual meeting, 75 (Article in Serial). SDV256417.

Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, 1950/1977, SX67SW32 (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV235701.

Cairn with cist, Fox Tor newtake. Cist (length 1.3 metres, width 0.6 metres), cairn diameter 3.6 metres.
(27/04/1950) Cist lies within small barrow at SX62867097 with one end stone missing. Investigations by Burnard in 1905 were abandoned when a broken beer bottle was found at the base of a side stone.
(13/08/1977) This cist lies within a small cairn of 4.0m diameter on a west-facing slope at 375.0m OD. The diagrams are correct and the dimensions are as shown. The depth of the cist is 0.7m. See photograph.
Surveyed at 1:10 000 on PFD

Fox, A., 1969, Swincombe Survey, 5 (Report - Survey). SDV250998.

Grinsell, L. V., 1978, Dartmoor Barrows, 153 (Article in Serial). SDV273224.

Site visited on 27th September 1975. Cairn enclosing a cist placed south-east to north-west . Diameter 3.6 metres, Height 0.3 metres.

Robinson, R., 1982, List of Field Monument Warden Visits 1982 (Un-published). SDV342809.

Site visited on 20th January 1982.

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

Not visible on aerial photograph.

Robinson, R., 1986, List of Field Monument Warden Visits 1986 (Un-published). SDV345664.

Site visited on 30th July 1986.

Royal Commission for the Historical Monuments of England, 1987-1993, Duchy Farms Project Survey Visit, M. J. Fletcher (Report - Survey). SDV350839.

(12/06/1988) SX 62867097. This fairly well preserved cairn and cist lies in rough moorland pasture on a peat covered hillslope.
The turf-covered cairn is, at maximum, 3.9m in diameter and 0.3m in height. The cist, oriented NW/SE, is approximately 1.3m by 0.55m, and 0.75m deep, and now almost hidden by the SW side stone which has fallen inwards. The NE end stone is not evident but an 0.7m high upright granite post retains part of the mound on this NE side. There is no trace of the coverstone.

Butler, J., 1993, Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities: Volume Four - The South-East, 218-9, Map 64, Figure 64.1 (Monograph). SDV337765.

Ter Hill N..W. '2' cairn at SX62847098 of circa 5.0 metres diameter by 0.3 metres high with a cist. This southern cairn had been dug into and the mound was spread to 5.0 metres across. The cover of the cist and one of the end slabs had been removed allowing the south side stone to topple inwards.

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

Cairn shown on survey.

Ordnance Survey, 2021, MasterMap 2021 (Cartographic). SDV364015.

'Cist' shown on modern mapping.

Historic England, 2021, National Heritage List for England, 1002592 (National Heritage List for England). SDV364016.

This monument which falls into two areas includes two round cairns with cists situated on the lower north-west facing slopes of Ter Hill overlooking the River Swincombe as it exits Foxtor Mires. The southern cairn survives as a circular stony mound measuring up to 5 metres in diameter and 0.3 metres high. This cairn contains a cist which measures up to 1.3 metres long and 0.6 metres wide. There is no coverstone and early partial excavations found a broken beer bottle and showed that earlier excavations had removed one side of the cist causing it to collapse.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV8146 - Royal Commission Survey at Down Ridge and Swincombe
• EDV3458 - Excavation of carin, Fox Tor newtake
• EDV8409 - Dartmoor Royal Forest Project
• EDV8423 - Duchy Farms Project

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