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Summary

Cairn to the west of Shell Top of 12.0 metres diameter by 0.8 metres high at the north end of a 'cross dyke' or branch reave

Location

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument 1010811: Cross Dyke reave

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: SX56SE8
• National Record of the Historic Environment: 439127
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX56SE/75
• Old SAM County Ref: 587
• Old SAM Ref: 10611

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• CAIRN (Bronze Age - 2200 BC to 701 BC (Between))

Full description

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 a subtle earthwork.

Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, 1950/1977, SX56SE8 (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV147837.

(01/06/1950) Cairn, turf covered. In good condition. Diameter 12 metres, height 0.7 metres.
(23/08/1977) SX 58486399: A round, flat-topped cairn, 12.0m. by 11.2m. and 0.8m. high, which lies on a gently sloping ridge at 355m. above OD. Now turf covered, it is in good condition. It is possibly just overlaid by the bank of the 'cross dyke' or branch reave, SX 56 SW 84.
1:10 000 Survey on PFD.

Fleming, A. + Collis, J. + Jones, R. L., 1973, A Late Prehistoric Reave System near Cholwich Town, Dartmoor, 5, Map, Figure 1 (Article in Serial). SDV358808.

Cairn is probably earlier than cross-dyke.

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

Visited on 4th September 1975. Cairn at end of cross-dyke, which may have been cut into it. Diameter 12.0 metres, height 1.0 metre.

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

Visible and recorded.

Butler, J., 1994, Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities: Volume Three - The South-West, 161-2. Map 51, Figure 51.5 (Monograph). SDV137656.

Shell Top west Cairn '4' at S58496400 of 11.0 metres diameter by 0.6 metres high sited at the head of a shallow boundary ditch. An undug flat-topped mound and one of the largest unexcavated cairns on the moor.

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

Depicted and described by Robertson.

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

(05/08/2002) SX 58496399. The dimensions of this feature are as described in 1977. The mound seems to have escaped the attentions of antiquarian excavators and there is no evidence to suggest the former presence of a cist or kerb. A boundary bank, possibly marking the edge of Trowlesworthy Warren (SX 56 SE 66) uses this cairn as a waypoint.

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

Cairn shown on survey.

NERC, 2013, LiDAR DTM data (1m resolution) Tellus: South Devon to Dartmoor, LIDAR SX5863 Tellus DTM 01-JUL-2013 to 31-AUG-2013 (Cartographic). SDV361514.

A mound is identifiable as an earthwork.

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

Visible on aerial photograph.

Google, 2019, Google Earth Pro, EARTH.GOOGLE.COM XX-XXX-2002 ACCESSED 14-OCT-2019 (Aerial Photograph). SDV363088.

A mound is identifiable as an earthwork.

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 irregularly shaped stony mound is visible as an earthwork approximately 9 y 12m across on aerial photographs of 1946 onwards, digital images derived from aerial photographs of 2002 and visualisations derived from lidar data captured in 2013, at roughly 355m on the south-west facing slopes of Lee Moor.
The mound is probably the remains of a cairn of Bronze Age date.
The mound is situated between Cholwich Town Reave North (MDV15060) and a cross dyke earthwork (MDV15062) and might have been a marker for aligning the latter onto the former.

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

'Cairn' shown on modern mapping.

Historic England, 2021, National Heritage List for England, 101811 (National Heritage List for England). SDV364016.

Boundary ditch closely associated with a standing stone, known as Hanging Stone, and terminates at a cairn at its northern end. One of two cairns on Lee Moor. Diam 10.6 metres, height 0.9 metres.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• 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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