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Cairn south of Stalldown stone alignment

A Scheduled Monument in Cornwood, Devon

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Coordinates

Latitude: 50.4406 / 50°26'26"N

Longitude: -3.9276 / 3°55'39"W

OS Eastings: 263217.305876

OS Northings: 61855.899462

OS Grid: SX632618

Mapcode National: GBR Q6.NQVZ

Mapcode Global: FRA 27NW.PNY

Entry Name: Cairn south of Stalldown stone alignment

Scheduled Date: 29 November 1991

Source: Historic England

Source ID: 1012748

English Heritage Legacy ID: 10513

County: Devon

Civil Parish: Cornwood

Traditional County: Devon

Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): Devon

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 surrounding
ditch.
This cairn, 200m. south of Stalldown stone alignment, is 8m. in diameter
and 1m. high. It has a hollow centre, probably as a result of the grave
having been opened, and may have been associated with the terminus of
the stone alignment.

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 provides 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 sites, gives significant insights
into successive changes in the pattern of land use through time.
Despite some disturbance, this cairn is a well-preserved example and
occupies a significant position beyond the present terminus of the Stalldown
stone alignment. Its relationship to the Stalldown complex indicates the
wealth of evidence relating to the ritual side of prehistoric life on this
part of the Moor.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Grinsell, L V, 'Proc. Devon Arch. Soc.' in Dartmoor Barrows (0305 5795), , Vol. 36, (1978), 137
Other
Devon County SMR,

Source: Historic England

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