Ancient Monuments

History on the Ground

This site is entirely user-supported. See how you can help.

Round cairn 610m north east of Great Nodden

A Scheduled Monument in Sourton, Devon

We don't have any photos of this monument yet. Why don't you be the first to send us one?

Upload Photo »

Approximate Location Map
Large Map »

If Google Street View is available, the image is from the best available vantage point looking, if possible, towards the location of the monument. Where it is not available, the satellite view is shown instead.

Coordinates

Latitude: 50.6724 / 50°40'20"N

Longitude: -4.0638 / 4°3'49"W

OS Eastings: 254265.575424

OS Northings: 87886.010206

OS Grid: SX542878

Mapcode National: GBR Q0.7001

Mapcode Global: FRA 27C9.JLS

Entry Name: Round cairn 610m north east of Great Nodden

Scheduled Date: 18 April 1994

Source: Historic England

Source ID: 1007646

English Heritage Legacy ID: 22331

County: Devon

Civil Parish: Sourton

Traditional County: Devon

Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): Devon

Details

This monument includes a round cairn situated on a gentle south east facing
slope overlooking the valley of the River Lyd. The cairn mound measures 11m
north east to south west by 7m north west to south east and stands up to 0.5m
high. Two narrow trenches cut into either end of the mound represent partial
early excavation or robbing.

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. Round cairns are prehistoric funerary
monuments dating to the Bronze Age (c.2000-700 BC). They were constructed as
earthen or rubble mounds, the latter predominating in areas of upland Britain
where such raw materials were locally available in abundance. Round cairns may
cover single or multiple burials and are sometimes surrounded by an outer
ditch. Often occupying prominent locations, they are a major visual element in
the modern landscape. Their considerable variation in form and longevity as a
monument type provide important information on the diversity of beliefs and
social organisation amongst early prehistoric communities. They are
particularly representative of their period and a substantial proportion of
surviving examples are considered worthy of protection. Dartmoor provides one
of the best preserved and most dense concentrations of round cairns in south-
western Britain.

Despite evidence of partial robbing, the round cairn 610m north east of Great
Nodden survives well and contains archaeological and environmental information
relating to the monument and the landscape in which it was erected. This mound
forms part of a dispersed group of cairns situated along a 2.5km long spur
alongside the River Lyd.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Grinsell, L V, 'Devon Archaeological Society Proceedings' in Dartmoor Barrows, , Vol. 36, (1978), 133
Other
MPP fieldwork by S. Gerrard,

Source: Historic England

Other nearby scheduled monuments

AncientMonuments.uk is an independent online resource and is not associated with any government department. All government data published here is used under licence. Please do not contact AncientMonuments.uk for any queries related to any individual ancient or schedued monument, planning permission related to scheduled monuments or the scheduling process itself.

AncientMonuments.uk is a Good Stuff website.