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Summary

Cairn at the north end of the western stone row near Collard Tor

Location

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument 1003829: Two cairns with stone rows E of Collard Tor on Wotter Common

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: SX56SE 53
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX56SE/173/1
• Old SAM County Ref: 283
• Pastscape: 439259

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• CAIRN (Constructed, Late Neolithic - 3000 BC to 2201 BC (Between))

Full description

Ministry of Works, Two Cairns with Stone Rows near Collard Tor, on Wotter Common (Schedule Document). SDV343478.

Two low cairns with associated stone rows. Cairn to west, 15 feet 9 inches diameter and 1 foot 6 inches high - kerb of flat stones at edge. Condition fair. The rows are incomplete, and the cairns have probably been disturbed in centre,

Unknown, Untitled Source (Unattributed Sites and Monuments Register Entry). SDV343486.

Not recorded during Royal Commission on Historical Monuments air photo project 1985.

Baring Gould, S., 1903, Ninth Report of the Dartmoor Exploration Committee, 140 (Article in Serial). SDV343488.

Royal Air Force, 1946, RAF/106G/UK/1190, RAF/106G/UK/1190 RP 3256-3257 27-FEB-1946 (Aerial Photograph). SDV363067.

A mound is visible as an earthwork.

Worth, R. H., 1946, The Stone Rows of Dartmoor. Part 1, 291 (Article in Serial). SDV251172.

Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, 1950 - 1976, SX56SE 53 (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV343483.

a. The remains of a cairn 25 feet in diameter, with a stone row running from it in a southerly direction. Other details: Plans.

Grinsell, L. V., 1978, Dartmoor Barrows, 165 (Article in Serial). SDV273224.

Visited 28th July 1972. Cairn, hollow centre, at north (higher) end of stone row. No retaining circle.

National Monuments Record, 1998, NMR 18051, NMR 18051/10 19-MAY-1998 (Aerial Photograph). SDV363403.

A mound is visible as an earthwork.

Fletcher, M. + Probert, S., 1998, Shaugh Moor, Devon: An Archaeological Survey, 3 (Report - Survey). SDV343481.

Two poorly preserved stone rows each focussed upon a disturbed cairn lie on the crest of the ridge east of Collard Tor overlooking Wotter. The cairns at the upper, north, ends of the rows are circa 8 metres and circa 8.4 metres in diameter.

Bluesky International Ltd/Getmapping PLC, 1999-2017, Pan Government Agreement Aerial Photographs, Next Perspectives APGB Imagery SX5562 03-MAY-2007 (Aerial Photograph). SDV363087.

A mound is identifiabl as an earthwork.

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

Cairn shown on survey.

National Monuments Record, 2009, 439259 (National Monuments Record Database). SDV343480.

Two stone rows each headed by a cairn lie on a gentle clitter-covered south-facing hills. Both cairns have been badly disturbed: the western mound is 8 metres across and 0.6 metres high.
Field Investigation 1st October 1980. The westerly cairn at SX 55826203, is considerably robbed. A number of stones at the edge of the cairn, and within it, may represent the remains of retaining circle or circles.

English Heritage, 2009, Heritage at Risk Register 2009: South West, 109 (Report - non-specific). SDV342694.

Generally satisfactory but with minor localised problems. Principal vulnerability plant growth.

NERC, 2013, LiDAR DTM data (1m resolution) Tellus: South Devon to Dartmoor, LIDAR SX5562 Tellus DTM 01-JUL-2013 to 31-AUG-2013 (Cartographic). SDV361514.

A mound is visible as an earthwork.

Various, 2018-2020, PALs Condition Recording forms, SM8 (Worksheet). SDV362781.

Visited 06/06/2019.The cairn is considerably robbed out in a boulder litter area. Photo taken

Various, 2018-2020, PALs Condition Recording photographs, SM8 (Photograph). SDV363073.

Visited 06/06/2019. Photo taken showing the remains of the cairn looking south down the length of the stone row

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 roughly oval mound circa 9m to across is identifiable as an earthwork under vegetation on aerial photographs of 1946 on the south-east facing slopes of Wotter Common.
The earthworks are more clearly visible on aerial photographs of 1998, that reveal the mound to comprise a spread 2m wide C-shaped bank, the open, south-east facing side of which encloses a 4m wide hollow. Lidar derived visualisations confirm that the hollow consists of a low, spread mound.
The earthwork mound is interpreted as the mutilated and robbed remains of a cairn or barrow of probable of Bronze Age date.
A second mound is visible circa 8m to the east.

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

Cairn shown on modern mapping.

Historic England, 2021, National Heritage List for England, 1003829 (National Heritage List for England). SDV364016.

This monument includes two single stone alignments and two cairns situated on a gentle south facing slope on Wotter Common overlooking the valley of the Tory Brook. Both alignments are orientated north to south, have cairns at their northern ends and terminal stones at their southern ends. The cairn at the northern end of the western stone row measures 9 metres in diameter and stands up to 0.3 metres high. A hollow in the mound indicates that this cairn has been investigated.

<.1> Butler, J., 1994, Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities: Volume Three - The South-West, 106-9, Map 48, Figures 48.6 & 48.6 (Monograph). SDV137656.

Collard Tor stone row cairn '2' at SX55846203 of 9.0 metres diameter by 0.3 metres high. The mound has been severely damaged with the interior completely hollowed out so that only an outer rim remains and even that has gone from the east side. Some slabs lie loosely on the surface and are possibly from an outer ring.

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)

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