Details

The monument comprises a Prehistoric stone alignment crossing the western edge
of Craddock Moor, close to a concentration of Bronze Age ceremonial and
funerary monuments in south-eastern Bodmin Moor.
The stone alignment survives as a single straight line on a NE-SW axis, 244m
long, and contains over 85 small end- and edge-set stones each up to 0.4m long
and projecting to a maximum 0.4m above the turf. The stones are generally
spaced 1m - 1.5m apart though occasional larger gaps in the sequence occur
where individual stones have either been removed or have become buried beneath
the peaty soil. The stone alignment crosses a broad shallow valley containing
extensive damp peat deposits and enters an area encompassed by a Prehistoric
field system at its north-eastern end. Parts of its course were subject to
cultivation in the medieval period, producing traces of characteristic ridges
and furrows.
This stone alignment was discovered by aerial mapping in 1977 and was surveyed
in 1985.

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.

Stone alignments or stone rows consist of upright stones set in a single line,
or in two or more parallel lines, up to several hundred metres in length.
They are often sited close to Prehistoric burial monuments such as small
cairns and cists, and to ritual monuments such as stone circles, and are
therefore considered to have had an important ceremonial function. The seven
stone alignments known on Bodmin Moor are considered to date from the late
Neolithic to early Bronze Age periods (c.2500 - 1600 BC) and provide rare
evidence of ceremonial and ritual practices on the Moor during these periods.
Owing to their rarity and longevity as a monument type, all examples that are
not extensively damaged will be considered nationally important. The Craddock
Moor stone alignment is well preserved and extensively complete, with only
minor breaks where stones are missing. It will also retain its associated
contemporary land surface and environmental evidence in the damp deposits
about the centre of its course. It lies in proximity to a major concentration
of broadly contemporary ceremonial and funerary monuments, demonstrating well
the diversity of ritual practices on the Moor during the Bronze Age.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
CAU/RCHME, The Bodmin Moor Survey, Unpubl. draft text. Ch.4, 1.3, fig 17
consulted 1992, Cornwall SMR entry for PRN 1252,
consulted 1992, Cornwall SMR entry for PRN 1362,
consulted 6/1991, Carter, A./RCHME, 1:2500 AP transcriptions, SX 2373 & 2472,
consulted 6/1991, Carter, A./RCHME, 1:2500 AP transcriptions, SX 2472 & 2473,
consulted 6/1991, Cornwall SMR entry for PRN 1293,

Source: Historic England