Guidance for walkers: The monuments featured in this database are archaeological treasures and need to be protected and preserved - please do not disturb any sites. Please check access and firing times before visiting sites, not all sites listed are on open access land. Firing ranges and boundaries of open access areas are marked on the OL28 OS Dartmoor Explorer map. Please stick to the country code and consider giving support to the numerous agencies that help to keep Dartmoor a fabulous natural and historic environment!
About the database listings: In all listings clicking on the photo or the site name will open a page for the site with a larger photo and further details from the database. The database now has over 6680 records covering nearly all publicly listed sites on Dartmoor including around 4800 round houses. This level of detail is of interest to archaeologists but tends to swamp listings of sites more likely to be of interest for walkers. For this reason, the listings default to around 550 core sites only. These are the stone circles, stone rows and the ring cairns listed by Turner. The default search radius is 2 km. The controls below the map can be used to start a new search by entering a 6- or 8-digit reference (without the prefix "SX"). The search radius can be specified and you can add incremental Display layers of detail on top of the core sites. If using a more detailed layer you will need to decrease the search radius to avoid getting hundreds of search results.
These listings have incorporated, matched up and merged all of the records from all of the major archaeological listings including: Worth, Grinsell, Turner, Butler, Bill Radcliffe, Sandy Gerrard, Megalithic Portal, the National Monument Records and the Historic Environment Records. The author would like to thank Bill, Sandy, the lovely people both at Megalithic Portal (especially Anne Tate who did an amazing job to link listings) and at ACE Archaeology for collaborative work over the years to synchronise and correct listings across the various websites which now interlink. A culmination of years of work the final merger of cairn records took 3 months of cross referencing in 2017 the result being a snapshot of the records at that time. This data has in turn been refined since by field work and research. The round house data was supplied by Sandy Gerrard. Grid references are in order of accuracy: from Google Earth satellite, if visible and found, from a Garmin GPS reading, if visited by the author and from the literature otherwise. Individual site pages will state the source of the grid reference and provide satellite imagery. If a site listing lacks a photo it has not yet been visited by the author in which case the grid reference is from the literature.
Currently the database only includes sites which can be represented by a grid reference. Reaves are not included as they require GIS shape technology which is beyond the current capability of this system. To see the sources for the records, look at the tables on the resources menu. The database listings can also be viewed on a Google map and downloaded as GPS datasets for Garmin devices.
Corrections, or any feedback or suggestions are very welcome, email: info@dartmoorwalks.org.uk.
NOTE: Clicking on the icons for each monument in the map will give the name of the site. You can zoom in and out and drag the map around.
Prehistoric Dartmoor Walks: Dartmoor Site: Cator Pound
OS Map: SX 6730 7765
HER: MDV6009
Megalithic Portal: 34961
ShortName: PD Cator Pound
Notes: The photo here is of the drove road to Cator pound. The pound is a very substantial prehistoric structure.
Nearby sites: SX 6730 7765
Distance: 0.00km
Prehistoric Dartmoor Walks: Dartmoor Site: Cator Pound
OS Map: SX 67426 78001
HER: MDV5978
Megalithic Portal: 52173
ShortName: CC CatorCommon
Butler map: 18.4
Grinsell: WID 1
Turner: B3
Notes: "Cairn, to the south-west of (a) - (SX 67 NE45), 15 ft. diameter and 3 ft high; comprised of small stones overgrown with gorse and heather on unenclosed moorland."
Nearby sites: SX 67426 78001
Distance: 0.37km
OS Map: SX 67118 77510
HER: MDV5987
Megalithic Portal: 45793
PMD: Pizwell Bridge
Alternate name: Pizwell Bridge Platform Cairn Circle and Cist
ShortName: CT Pizwell 1
Butler map: 18.5
Butler Vol 5: p.171 & Fig.110
Grinsell: WID 2
Turner: E10
Notes: "Pizwell Bridge cairn of circa 5m diameter by 0.5m high is to be found about 10m below the road in an unusual position near the base of the hill. Three retaining slabs form an arc around one side with another just under the turf. The top of a slab near the centre with a pit alongside might be one side of a cist. ". Butler Pizwell Bridge Vol. 1. Map 18.5 (diagram Vol 5. p.171). Possible central cist.
The author tried to locate this on the 21st Sept 2024. It can be seen from the road in the distance by a small tree but it is not on public access land and the area has a high fence surrounding it. The photo used here was taken by Bill Radcliffe in 1995 and is reproduced with his kind permission.
Nearby sites: SX 67118 77510
Distance: 0.23km
Prehistoric Dartmoor Walks: Dartmoor Site: Soussons Cairn Circle
OS Map: SX 67516 78700
HER: MDV6013
Megalithic Portal: 1266
PMD: Soussons Plantation
Alternate name: Soussons Plantation S. Ring Setting Cairn and Cist
ShortName: CT Soussons Cm
Butler map: 24.2.6
DPD page: 124
Grinsell: MAN 9
Turner: D2
Barrow Report: 22 23 45 56
Notes: "A 28 feet diameter cairn circle with a central cist (plan). The tallest stone in the cairn circle is about 2 feet high." "This cist measures at least 1.3 metres long by 0.5 metres wide and when excavated in 1903 two coils of human hair were found" (Plan by RHW. Barrow Report 23. 1904). Lethbridge p.124. Butler Soussons Plantation S - Vol. 2. Map 24.2.6 (diagrams pp. 18-20). See also HER record MDV6013.
Nearby sites: SX 67516 78700
Distance: 1.07km
Page last updated 18/02/24