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Summary

A cairn circle and cist lie on the north-eastern slopes of Skir Hill above the valley of the O Brook and the tin mines at Henroost and Hooten Wheals. The cairn circle measures 3.9 metres north-south and 3.6 metres east-west. The interior of the circle is hollowed, being some 0.6 metres deep. The cist is placed just to the north-east of the centre of the circle. It is represented by a water-filled hollow, oriented north-south, measuring 0.8 metres long, 0.5 metres wide and approximately 1 metre deep. There is no trace of a capstone.

Location

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument 1019568: Cist and cairn 590m SSE of Skir Ford
• SHINE: Earthworks of Bronze Age cairn circle and cist on Skir Hill circa 290 metres south of track leading to 'The Henroost'

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: SX67SE62
• National Record of the Historic Environment: 443037
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX67SE/111
• Old SAM Ref: 22397

Monument Type(s) and Dates

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

Full description

Worth, R. H., 1905, 24th Report of the Barrow Committee, 91, Plate 1 (Article in Serial). SDV64705.

The cist stands within a circle now incomplete. The tops of the side and end stones are all approximately at ground level.

Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, 1950/1977, SX67SE62 (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV277612.

(27/04/1950) Cist length 0.76 metres, width 0.56 metres. Retaining circle contains twelve stones, of these three are large, the remainder small.
(10/07/1977) This cist lies within a ruined cairn, of which the peristalith only survives, on a gentle poorly drained, north east facing slope at 460 metres above OD, near the summit of a broad level hill. It consists of two side stones and two end stones, one leaning inwards. The interior, which has been excavated, measures 0.90 metres by 0.55 metres and 0.60 metres deep. It is placed slightly off centre of the peristalith of 11 stones, maximum size 0.7 metres by 0.2 metres and 0.6 metres high, whose internal diameter is 3.3 metres. The cist is in good condition. Enlargement Survey at 1:50 on 495.

Davidson, C. + Seabrook, R., 1973, Stone Rings on south-east Dartmoor, 39 (Article in Serial). SDV345864.

Grinsell, L. V., 1978, Dartmoor Barrows, 154 (Article in Serial). SDV273224.

(12/09/1973) A retaining ellipse (9 stones standing), enclosing cist placed south-east to north-west at Skir Hill. Diameter 4.0 metres north-west to south-east and 3.0 metres south-west to north-east.

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

Not visible on RAF 1946 aerial photographs.

Turner, J. R., 1990, Ring Cairns, Stone Circles and Related Monuments on Dartmoor, 72, d19 (Article in Serial). SDV229817.

Ring setting, 3.3 metres internal diameter with 9 stones in circle, around central cist.

Gerrard, S., 1990-2002, Monument Protection Programme. Archaeological Item Dataset., MPP 152429 (Report - Survey). SDV277946.

(29/11/1999) At SX65177075 a cist and cairn 590 metres south-south-east of Skir Ford. Diameter 4.1m, height 0.5m. Cist 0.82m by 0.52m by 0.82m deep. Oriented north-south. A 4.1m diameter ring of stones with a cist situated slightly west of centre. Thick rough grass. Deep peat deposits around.

Butler, J., 1993, Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities: Volume Four - The South-East, 203, Map 61, Figure 61.6 (Monograph). SDV337765.

Skir Hill cairn at SX65187075 of 3.3 metres diameter with a cist. An oval ring of slabs 3.0 to 4.0 metres across surrounds a central cist all four sides of which are buried but in place. The cover stone has gone as have all traces of the mound, though as surface stone is scarce on these slopes it may originally have had merely a covering of turf. The remains, exposed accidentally in turf ties, are probably not as isolated as it seems, for the thick growth of peat here might well conceal others of similar size.

Royal Commission for the Historical Monuments of England, 1993-1998, Dartmoor Royal Forest Project, H. Riley (Report - Survey). SDV346608.

(11/01/1995) A cairn circle and cist lie on the north-eastern slopes of Skir Hill at SX 6523 7084 above the valley of the O Brook and the tin mines at Henroost and Hooten Wheals. The cairn circle measures 3.9 metres north-south and 3.6 metres east-west. The interior of the circle is hollowed, being some 0.6 metres deep. The cist is placed just to the north-east of the centre of the circle. It is represented by a water-filled hollow, oriented north-south, measuring 0.8 metres long, 0.5 metres wide and approximately 1 metre deep. There is no trace of a capstone and the wet ground conditions meant that the stones forming the cist could not be investigated.

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

Cairn shown on survey 104 metres to the north-east.

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

'Cairn Circle & Cist' shown on modern mapping.

Historic England, 2021, National Heritage List for England, 1019568 (National Heritage List for England). SDV364016.

The monument includes a cairn containing a cist, situated on a gentle north east facing slope of Skir Hill overlooking the valley of the O Brook. The cairn survives as a 4.1 metres diameter ring of edge set slabs standing up to 0.5 metres high. The cist is situated slightly west of the cairn's centre and survives as a 0.82 metres long by 0.52 metres wide and 0.82 metres deep stone lined pit, having been revealed by past excavation.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments: none recorded

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV8409 - Dartmoor Royal Forest Project

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