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Cairn 240m north of Crownley Parks

A Scheduled Monument in Ilsington, Devon

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Coordinates

Latitude: 50.5701 / 50°34'12"N

Longitude: -3.7402 / 3°44'24"W

OS Eastings: 276860.595982

OS Northings: 75924.700221

OS Grid: SX768759

Mapcode National: GBR QH.YJTT

Mapcode Global: FRA 371K.JP4

Entry Name: Cairn 240m north of Crownley Parks

Scheduled Date: 7 March 2002

Source: Historic England

Source ID: 1019588

English Heritage Legacy ID: 34423

County: Devon

Civil Parish: Ilsington

Traditional County: Devon

Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): Devon

Church of England Parish: Ilsington St Michael

Church of England Diocese: Exeter

Details

The monument includes a cairn situated on the crest of a south facing slope
overlooking the valley of the River Lemon. The cairn survives as a 17.8m
diameter stoney mound standing up to 1.4m high. An irregular shaped hollow in
the centre of the mound may be the result of partial robbing, an early
undocumented excavation or the addition of stones cleared from the surrounding
area.
The modern fence surrounding the monument forms the edge of the scheduling.
The fence itself is excluded from the scheduling but the ground beneath it is
included.

MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.

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 provide 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. Round cairns are prehistoric funerary
monuments dating to the Bronze Age (c.2000-700 BC). They were constructed as
earthen or rubble mounds, the latter predominating in areas of upland Britain
where such raw materials were locally available in abundance. Round cairns may
cover single or multiple burials and are sometimes surrounded by an outer
ditch. Often occupying prominent locations, they are a major visual element in
the modern landscape. 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. Dartmoor provides one
of the best preserved and most dense concentrations of round cairns in south-
western Britain.

Despite partial excavation, the cairn 240m north of Crownley Parks survives
comparatively well and will contain environmental and archaeological
information relating to the monument and the landscape in which it was
constructed.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
Devon County Sites and Monuments Register, SX77NE77, (1985)

Source: Historic England

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