Longstone Hill (c.24) Cairnfield Master
Database entries
OS Map: SX 568 908
OS Source: Constructed
HER: MDV5577
Alternate name: Longstone Hill (c.24)
Short Name: CN:Longstone M
Butler map: 42.8
Exist: Yes
Record: Duplicate
Record Source: Butler
Cairn Class: Yes
Dimensions (m): 2-7.0 x 0.2-0.6
Lidar: SX 568 908
Guide Map: 4
Nearest Bus Stop: Sourton Windard Terrace (4.5 km) [Route: 118]
Nearby sites: SX 568 908
Notes
This record has been separated out into individual entries, hence marked as a duplicate. It is the master record.HER: A cairnfield containing 39 small irregular cairns on the crest and upper slopes of Longstone Hill.The majority relate to stone clearance activity perhaps during a period when the area was considered suitable for cultivation or simply to gather stone for use elsewhere. Features were recorded and scheduled in 1994 as a Bronze Age cairnfield. Ground survey in 2004 shed doubt on this identification and suggests these are clearance cairns.
HER quoting Gerrard:
(09/02/1994) These 18 cairns form part of a cairnfield including at least 64 mounds, situated along a ridge called Longstone Hill. Fourteen of the cairns are sub-circular, ranging in size from 2m to 7m in diameter and standing between 0.2m and 1m high. The remainder are ovoid, ranging between 3m to 11m by 2m to 5m by 0.2m to 0.8m high. The average height of all the mounds is 0.52m. Four cairns have a shallow hollow in the mound, suggesting robbing or partial early excavation. Many of the cairns are crest sited and may therefore contain burials, although some may represent stone clearance connected with cultivation of the area. The individual cairns can be described individually as follows:-
1. SX 56779081 Cairn measures 7m in diameter and up to 1m high. A 1.3m square and 0.2m deep central hollow suggests partial early excavation.
2. SX 56799081 Cairn measures 3.5m in diameter and up to 0.6m high.
3. SX 56809081 Cairn measures 3.5m in diameter and up to 0.5m high.
4. SX 56799084 Cairn measures 2.4m in diameter and up to 0.2m high.
5. SX 56769084 Cairn is oval in shape, measuring 8m by 5m, up to 0.7m high and aligned east-west. A 1m square and 0.15m deep hollow dug into the western end of the mound suggests robbing or partial early excavation. The east side of this cairn has seen limited damage as a result of a track being cut through it.
6. SX 56739084 Cairn measures 2m in diameter and up to 0.2m high.
7. SX 56849080 Cairn is oval in shape, measuring 4.5m by 3m by up to 0.6m high and aligned east-west. A small crater 1m from the cairn on the north-east may be a shell hole.
8. SX 56859080 Cairn is oval in shape, measuring 11m by 4m, up to 0.8m high and aligned east-west.
9. SX 56849077 Cairn measures 4.1m in diameter and up to 0.3m high on the upslope side and 0.9m on the upslope.
10. SX 56819077 Cairn measures 3.5m in diameter and up to 0.7m high.
11. SX 56819078 Cairn measures 4.8m in diameter and up to 0.7m high.
12. SX 56759078 Cairn measures 3m in diameter and up to 0.4m high. The western side of the cairn has seen limited damage as a result of a track being cut through it.
13. SX 56769074 Cairn measures 3m in diameter and up to 0.3m high.
14. SX 56769075 Cairn measures 4.5m in diameter and stands up to 0.5m high. A 2m long, 1m wide and 0.2m deep central hollow suggests partial early excavation or robbing. The spoil from this investigation forms a mound immediately east of the cairn.
15. SX 56779075 Cairn measures 4.3m in diameter and up to 0.5m high. Two V-shaped trenches, associated with military activity in this area, lie in the immediate vicinity of the cairn.
16. SX 56769073 Cairn measures 3.8m in diameter and up to 0.35m high.
17. SX 56759072 Cairn measures 2.7m in diameter and up to 0.2m high. A large slab visible on the north-east side of the mound may be a cist coverstone or earthfast rock.
18. SX 56749073 Cairn is oval in shape, measuring 3m by 2m by up to 0.2m high and aligned north-south.
References
These are selected references with an emphasis on out of copyright sources linked as PDFs. For more detailed references try any linked HER or PMD record above.
- Butler, Jeremy, Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities, vol.2: The North, (1991)
- Newman, Phil, Archaeological Sites within Okehampton Training Area, Southwest Landscape Investigations (2014)