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Summary

A cairn 12m in diameter and 1.7m high. Its base is partially turf-covered and it may be a clearance cairn lying upon an older feature. Survey in 2017 recorded the feature as a stony round cairn west of Ditsworthy, which may be the result of field clearance deposited on an earlier feature. Condition fair, site stable.

Location

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument 1012053: Cairn north-west of Ditsworthy Warren House

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: SX56NE52
• National Record of the Historic Environment: 438647
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX56NE/31
• Old SAM County Ref: 491
• Old SAM Ref: 10643

Monument Type(s) and Dates

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

Full description

Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, 1950/1977, SX56NE52 (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV217409.

(30/05/1950) A cairn, diameter 11.0 metres, height 1.7 metres. This barrow is not turf-covered.
(02/06/1977) A mound of stones 12.0m in diameter and 1.7m high with no kerbing, no turf or growth of any kind, and no evidence of disturbance. It is situated at 300m OD on a slight west slope in
a pasture field which appears to have been cleared of surface stone. it is considered that this is more probably a post-Medieval clearance heap than a prehistoric feature. It is notable that it is within 120m of a number of similar mounds which have resulted from tin streaming.

Worth, R. H., 1953, Dartmoor, 164 (Monograph). SDV231148.

A cairn in the valley to the west of Ditsworthy Warren House.

Ministry of Works, 1962, Cairn north-west of Ditsworthy Warren House (Schedule Document). SDV217407.

This cairn lies north-west of Ditsworthy Warren House on a west-facing slope above Meavy Pool and the north bank of the River Plym. It consists of a mound of stones built on a base made up of earth and stone which projects to form a rim 0.4 meters in height. The mound is 14.0 meters by 12.0 meters in diameter and 1.5 meters in height.

Grinsell, L. V., 1978, Dartmoor Barrows, 166 (Article in Serial). SDV273224.

Site visited on 29th July 1972. Cairn, mutilated, diameter 12.0 meters, height 1.3 meters.

National Monuments Record, 1983, NMR SF2134, 52 (Aerial Photograph). SDV238551.

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

Site recorded.

Butler, J., 1994, Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities: Volume Three - The South-West, Map 49 (Monograph). SDV137656.

Depicted as a pillow mound by Butler (1993, Map 49).

Fletcher, M. + Newman, P. + Probert, S., 1999, Drizzlecombe, Eylesbarrow, Ditsworthy and Hartor areas in the Plym Valley, West Devon (Report - Survey). SDV346268.

(03/08/1999) SX 58146635. This pear-shaped mound measures 12m north to south by 14m and stands a maximum of 1.7m high. While it is true that the majority of the mound consists of bare stone, possibly the result of stone clearance, the base is turf covered and appears to be of some antiquity. It is also curious that the stone was not used in the construction of the nearby field walls or pillow mounds.

Whitbourn, A., 2001, An Archaeological Investigation into features comprising, and associated with, Ditsworthy Warren, 80 (Report - Assessment). SDV360381.

Shapeless cairn, not Prehistoric.

Newman, P. + Probert, S., 2005, Ringmoor Training Area: Monument Baseline Condition Survey (Report - Survey). SDV363484.

(10/03/2005) This somewhat enigmatic feature remains as described by English Heritage (1999).

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

Circular Prehistoric cairn.

Ordnance Survey, 2011, MasterMap (Cartographic). SDV346129.

Newman, P., 2018, Archaeological Sites within Ringmoor Training Area, Dartmoor National Park, Devon: A condition survey on behalf of Defence Infrastructure Organisation (Report - Survey). SDV361636.

(04/12/2017) A stony round cairn west of Ditsworthy, which may be the result of field clearance deposited on an earlier feature. Condition fair, site stable.

Historic England, 2018, National Heritage List for England, 1012053 (National Heritage List for England). SDV360653.

Cairn north-west of Ditsworthy Warren House.

Various, 2018-2020, PALs Condition Recording forms, UP-DZ 16 (Worksheet). SDV362781.

Visited 01/02/2020. Overall condition very good. Photo taken.

Various, 2018-2020, PALs Condition Recording photographs, UP-DZ 16 (Photograph). SDV363073.

Photo looking 0° showing cairn surrounded by close cropped grass/moss.

Historic England, 2021-2022, NRHE to HER website, Accessed 29/06/2021 (Website). SDV364039.

SX 58136635. Scheduled as a cairn (Scheduled Monument Notification, 14/10/1991).

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV4966 - Survey of Drizzlecombe, Eylesbarrow, Ditsworthy and Hartor. The Eylesbarrow archaeological landscape
• EDV7443 - Condition survey of archaeological sites in Ringmoor Training Area
• EDV7551 - Ditsworthy Warren: An archaeological investigation
• EDV7569 - Condition survey of Ringmoor Down training area
• EDV8155 - Plym Valley Survey
• EDV8227 - Ringmoor Training Area: Monument Baseline Condition Survey

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