Ancient Monuments

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Cairn on Glasscombe Ball

A Scheduled Monument in South Brent, Devon

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Coordinates

Latitude: 50.427 / 50°25'37"N

Longitude: -3.8883 / 3°53'17"W

OS Eastings: 265971.786181

OS Northings: 60274.390427

OS Grid: SX659602

Mapcode National: GBR Q9.2GYG

Mapcode Global: FRA 27RX.M0G

Entry Name: Cairn on Glasscombe Ball

Scheduled Date: 7 October 1991

Source: Historic England

Source ID: 1012470

English Heritage Legacy ID: 10562

County: Devon

Civil Parish: South Brent

Traditional County: Devon

Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): Devon

Church of England Parish: Ugborough St Peter

Church of England Diocese: Exeter

Details

Many examples of funerary monuments are preserved on Dartmoor, mostly dating
to the Bronze age (c.2500-500BC). To celebrate or commemorate the dead,
mounds of earth or stone were piled in 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 a surrounding ditch. This large cairn, on
the southern brow of Glasscombe Ball, is 22 m. in diameter and 1.5 m. high,
it consists of a mound of stones on an earth and stone base and is similar
in form to the other large hilltop cairns in this area.

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 remains, gives significant insights
into successive changes in the pattern of land use through time. This cairn
on Glasscombe Ball is a well-preserved example and occupies a prominent
position on the brow of the hill. Its relationship to other cairns and a
stone row indicates the wealth of evidence relating to the ritual side of
life on this part of the Moor.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
Devon County SMR SX66SE-008,

Source: Historic England

Other nearby scheduled monuments

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