Details

The monument includes six standing stones and the archaeologically sensitive
area between and around around them located on the west side of East Pinford,
700m west of Long Combe sheep pen. The alignment extends for 0.01ha and is
orientated north west to south east. The alignment is made up of two parallel
rows with three stones in each row. Each stone is paired with a stone in the
parallel row. The two pairs of stones at the west end are set with their long
sides along the alignment but the pair at the east end are both turned to the
north east. The stones are between 350mm to 720mm high, 210mm to 530mm wide
and 100mm to 200mm thick.

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

Exmoor is the most easterly of the three main upland areas in the south
western peninsula of England. In contrast to the other two areas, Dartmoor and
Bodmin Moor, there has been no history of antiquarian research and little
excavation of its monuments. However, survey work has confirmed a comparable
richness of archaeological remains with evidence of human exploitation and
occupation from the Mesolithic period to the present day. The well-preserved
and often visible relationships between settlement sites, major land
boundaries, trackways and ceremonial and funerary monuments give insight 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. Stone alignments were
being constructed and used from the Late Neolithic period to the Middle Bronze
Age (c.2500-1000 BC) and provide rare evidence of ceremonial and ritual
practices during these periods. The recorded examples on Exmoor form an
important subgroup of the total population and are considered to be of
national importance.

The East Pinford stone row is particularly well preserved with all stones
upright and earthfast. It will retain archaeological and environmental
evidence relating to the use and development of the site. Its importance is
enhanced by its association with a hut circle settlement, funerary monuments
to the east and north east, and three further stone settings.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Quinnell, N V, Dunn, C J, Lithic Monuments within the Exmoor National Park: A New Survey, (1992), 43
Chanter, , Worth, , 'Rep Trans Dev Assoc' in The Rude Stone Monuments Of Exmoor And Its Borders, Part II., , Vol. 38, (1906), 358-552

Source: Historic England