Details

The monument includes four standing stones, a recumbent stone, a cairn and the
archaeologically sensitive area around and between the features. The site is
located on the south east facing slope of Lanacombe. The stones are set out
with the cairn defining an irregular triangular area which extends over
0.13ha. The standing stones are between 300mm and 450mm high, 200mm to 530mm
wide and 100mm to 150mm thick. Three of the stones have erosion hollows around
them that are up to 350mm deep. A further erosion hollow may mark the position
of a former standing stone and is 2m across and 200mm deep. The cairn, on the
north west margin of the site, is 3m in diameter and 300mm high at its highest
point.

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 settings consist of a group of standing stones set out in an irregular
or random pattern. There are a number of such sites on Exmoor where they
appear to be a regional variation of the more common stone alignments. Stone
settings 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
settings 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. Due to their rarity and longevity as a
monument type all surviving examples are considered to be of national
importance.

Round cairns are prehistoric funerary monuments dating to the Bronze Age
(c.2000-700 BC). They were constructed as stone mounds covering single or
multiple burials. These burials may be placed within the mound in stone-lined
compartments called cists. In some cases the cairn was surrounded by a ditch.
Often occupying prominent locations, cairns are a major visual element in the
modern landscape. They are a relatively common feature of the uplands and are
the stone equivalent of the earthen round barrows of the lowlands. Their
considerable variation in form and longevity as a monument type provide
important information on the diversity of beliefs and social organisation
amongst early prehistoric communities. They are particularly representative
of their period and a substantial proportion of surviving examples are
considered worthy of protection.
Lanacombe 2: a stone setting and cairn on the east side of Lanacombe survives
well with little evidence of disturbance and will retain archaeological and
environmental evidence relating to the development and use of the monument.
Its importance is enhanced by being part of a linear group of five similar
sites.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Quinnell, N V, Dunn, C J, Lithic Monuments within the Exmoor National Park: A New Survey, (1992), 44
Other
McDonnell, R R J, (1993)
Title: Gray`s Ordnance Survey 6" Map sheet 33 SW
Source Date: 1905
Author:
Publisher:
Surveyor:

Source: Historic England