Details

Many examples of prehistoric funerary monuments are preserved on Dartmoor,
mostly dating to the Bronze Age (c.2500-500 BC) . To celebrate or commemorate
the dead, mounds of earth or stone were piled in a roughly hemispherical
shape over the burial, which was sometimes contained in a small rectangular
structure, or cist, made of stone slabs. Some monuments also include
kerbstones marking the outer edge of the mound and a surrounding ditch.
This cairn lies close to the northern bank of Langcombe Brook, a tributary of
the River Plym. It consists of a retaining kerb of nine, possibly ten, stones
up to a metre in height, surrounding a mound 5.5m in diameter and 0.5m in
height, with a central cist. The cist is 1m in length and up to 0.8m in
width, and 0.9m in depth. Both side and end slabs are in place and the
coverstone has been replaced in position. The ground outside the retaining
kerb is badly eroded, leaving the monument standing above the surrounding
ground level. There are several other cairns with cists in Langcombe.

MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.
It includes a 2 metre boundary around the archaeological features,
considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.

Source: Historic England

Reasons for Scheduling

Dartmoor is the largest expanse of open moorland in Southern Britain and
because of exceptional conditions of preservation, it is also one of the most
complete examples of an upland relict landscape in the whole country. The
great wealth and diversity of archaeological remains provide direct evidence
for human exploitation of the Moor from the early prehistoric period onwards.
The well-preserved and often visible relationship between settlement sites,
major land boundaries, trackways, ceremonial and funerary monuments, as well
as later industrial remains, gives significant insights into successive
changes in the pattern of land use through time.
Although its capstone has been repositioned, this cairn is a well-preserved
example close to the brook. Its relationship to other monuments indicates the
wealth of evidence relating to the ritual side of prehistoric life on this
part of the Moor.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
Devon County SMR SX66NW-008 & 008-1,

Source: Historic England