See important guidance on the use of this record.

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

Summary

A curvilinear earthwork bank which forms an almost complete sub-circular ring is visible on aerial photographs taken from 1946 onwards and on visualisations derived from lidar data captured in 2013. It is interpreted as a possible Bronze Age ring cairn or barrow.

Location

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument 1014244: Two ring cairns 330m south east of Coldharbour Cross

Other References/Statuses

• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX75SW/14/2
• Old SAM Ref: 24852
• Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division: SX75SW 5

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• BARROW (Bronze Age - 2200 BC to 701 BC (Between))
• RING CAIRN (Early Bronze Age to Middle Bronze Age - 2200 BC to 1001 BC (Between))

Full description

Royal Air Force, 1946, CPE/UK 1890 (Aerial Photograph). SDV140289.

Other details: Also 4198, 4088.

Royal Air Force, 1946, RAF/CPE/UK/1890, Devon County Council RAF/CPE/UK/1890 4088-4089 10-DEC-1946 (Aerial Photograph). SDV169268.

A curvilinear earthwork bank which forms an almost complete ring is visible.

Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, 1958 - 1961, SX75SW6 (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV343401.

Barrow 'B'. Second of three possible saucer barrows. Site visit 13th December 1961. Circular bank 0.2 metres high, with unsurveyable traces of a central rise.

Grinsell, L. V., 1983, The Barrows of South and East Devon, 39 (Article in Serial). SDV337013.

Griffith, F. M., 1983, Untitled Source (Personal Comment). SDV343402.

Site visit 21st May 1983 with H. Quinnell. This appears to be a ring bank in rather poor condition, bank not continuous, but still recognisable. Diameter approx 21 metres. No sign of a central rise.

Department of National Heritage, 1996, Two Ring Cairns 330 Metres South-east of Coldharbour Cross (Schedule Document). SDV343403.

The north-western of two ring cairns, with and overall diameter of 21 metres, is formed by a low bank 3 metres in width, and circa 0.2 metres in height. The bank is most clearly visible on the inside. The distance between the ring cairns is 12 metres. The area of ground between them is archaeologically sensitive in that it will contain burials, evidence of related activity, and archaeological evidence for the chronological relationship between the two ring cairns. They appear to have been first identified from Royal Air Force vertical aerial photographs taken in 1946. At that time, and when they were surveyed by the Ordnance Survey in 1961, they lay within an area of heath and were partly overgrown with gorse. Clearance of the heath and subsequent ploughing have made this monument less distinct than when first recorded.

English Heritage, 2009, Heritage at Risk Register 2009: South West, 108 (Report - non-specific). SDV342694.

Generally unsatisfactory conditions with major localised problems. Principal vulnerability dumping.

NERC, 2013, LiDAR DTM data (1m resolution) Tellus: South Devon to Dartmoor, LIDAR SX7152 Tellus DTM 01-JUL-2013 to 31-AUG-2013 (Cartographic). SDV361514.

A curvilinear earthwork bank which forms an almost complete ring is visible.

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.

A curvilinear earthwork bank, circa 2m wide, which forms an almost complete sub-circular ring, circa 20m diameter, is visible on aerial photographs taken from 1946 onwards and on visualisations derived from lidar data captured in 2013. A circular earthwork labelled as ‘Tumuli’ is shown here on the 2020 Ordnance Survey MasterMap. It is interpreted as a possible Bronze Age ring cairn or barrow.

Ordnance Survey, 2020, MasterMap 2020 (Cartographic). SDV363413.

A circular earthwork is depicted in this location.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV8098 - The South Devon Coast to Dartmoor Aerial Investigation and Mapping (formerly NMP) Survey, Area 2, Avon Valley to Plymouth (Ref: ACD2040)

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