Details

The monument comprises three small Prehistoric round cairns, part of a
scattered group of twelve cairns, situated near a Neolithic long cairn and
other broadly contemporary cairns, field systems and settlement sites on the
wide saddle of Twelve Men's Moor between Kilmar Tor and the Trewortha
Tor-Hawkstor ridge on eastern Bodmin Moor.
The three cairns cluster to form a triangle with two cairns adjoining on an
east-west axis at the south and the third cairn situated 10m to the north.
The northern cairn survives as an oval mound of heaped rubble, measuring 9m
along its east-west long axis by a maximum 5m wide and 0.6m high, with a
flattened upper surface. The SE cairn has a circular rubble mound, 3.5m in
diameter and 0.6m high, of inverted bowl shape with steep sides and a shallow
hollow in the upper surface, 0.75m in diameter and 0.1m deep, resulting from
an early stone robbing episode. The SW cairn also has an oval, flat-topped
mound, measuring 7m on its ENE-WSW long axis by a maximum 4.5m wide and 0.4m
high. The eastern perimeter of the SW cairn touches the perimeter of the SE
cairn. The three cairns are situated near the WSW end of their scattered
group, with further small cairns situated 13m to both west and east.

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

Bodmin Moor, the largest of the Cornish granite uplands, has long been
recognised to have exceptional preservation of archaeological remains. The
Moor has been the subject of detailed archaeological survey and is one of the
best recorded upland landscapes in England. The extensive relict landscapes of
prehistoric, medieval and post-medieval date provide direct evidence for human
exploitation of the Moor from the earliest prehistoric period onwards. The
well-preserved and often visible relationship between settlement sites, field
systems, ceremonial and funerary monuments as well as later industrial remains
provides significant insights into successive changes in the pattern of land
use through time. Round cairns are funerary monuments covering single or
multiple burials and dating to the Bronze Age (c.2000-700 BC). They were
constructed as mounds of earth and stone rubble up to 40m in external diameter
but usually considerably smaller; a kerb of edge-set stones sometimes bounds
the edges of the mound. Burials were placed in small pits, or on occasion
within a box-like structure of stone slabs called a cist, let into the old
ground surface or dug into the body of the cairn. Round cairns can occur as
isolated monuments, in small groups or in larger cemeteries. Their
considerable variation in form and longevity as a monument type provides
important information on the diversity of beliefs, burial practices and social
organisation in the Bronze Age. They are particularly representative of their
period and a substantial proportion of surviving examples are considered
worthy of preservation.

These round cairns on Twelve Men's Moor have survived well despite the limited
actions of stone-robbers on the south-eastern cairn and they will retain many
original features including burial deposits. Their proximity to other earlier
and broadly contemporary burial monuments of differing types and to
Prehistoric field systems and settlement sites demonstrates well the
development and diversity of funerary practices and the organisation of land
use during the Earlier Prehistoric period.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Trahair, J E R, 'Cornish Archaeology' in A survey of cairns on Bodmin Moor, , Vol. 17, (1978), 3-24
Trahair, J E R, 'Cornish Archaeology' in A survey of cairns on Bodmin Moor, , Vol. 17, (1978), 3-24
Trahair, J E R, 'Cornish Archaeology' in A survey of cairns on Bodmin Moor, , Vol. 17, (1978), 3-24
Other
consulted 9/1991, Carter, A./RCHME, 1:2500 AP transcription for SX 2475,
consulted 9/1991, Cornwall SMR entry for PRN 1013,
consulted 9/1991, Cornwall SMR entry for PRN 1013.12,

Source: Historic England