Details

The monument includes a small Prehistoric round cairn situated near the centre
of the north-west slope of Ridge hill on eastern Bodmin Moor. The monument is
located close to extensive, broadly contemporary field systems, settlement
sites and a stone circle.
The cairn survives as a circular mound of heaped rubble, 5m in diameter and
0.6m high, and is largely turf-covered over its rubble content. A shallow
hollow, 1m in diameter and 0.2m deep, due to relatively recent stone-robbing,
is located slightly north-west of the mound's centre. The cairn is accompanied
by a small outlying slab, 0.5m beyond the north-west perimeter of the mound,
considered to form an original feature marking a significant point on the
cairn's circumference. This outlier comprises a small end-set slab, 0.3m high
and 0.25m square in section, tapered to a wedge-shaped upper end. Beyond this
monument, the north-west boundary of an extensive Prehistoric field system
extends to within 140m south-east of the cairn.

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.

This round cairn on Ridge hill has survived substantially intact, despite the
limited actions of stone robbers, and it will retain many original features
including burial deposits. Among these features, the presence of an adjacent
marker slab is highly unusual. The proximity of this cairn to extensive,
broadly contemporary field systems and the Nine Stones stone circle
demonstrates well the nature of funerary and ritual activities and their
relationship to settlement during the Bronze Age.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
Consulted 3/1992, Carter, A/RCHME, 1:2500 AP transcriptions for SX 2377 & SX 2378,
consulted 3/1992, Cornwall SMR entry for PRN 1020; 1021; 1030,
consulted 3/1992, Cornwall SMR entry for PRN 1036,
consulted 3/1992, Cornwall SMR entry for PRN 1108,

Source: Historic England