thesweetcheat

Two cairns here, on a flattish saddle surrounded on three sides by rising ground – the granite outcrops of Kilmar Tor to the north, Bearah Tor to the east and the more gentle Langstone Downs to the south.

Descriptions from Cornwall & Scilly HER:

Platform cairn at SX 2532 7430

A rimmed platform cairn in enclosed moorland to the west of Bearah Tor, on a very slight western slope. It was discovered by the RCHME surveyor during field investigation and surveyed onto the 1:2500 air photo plot. It is a turf covered cairn, 9.3m in diameter and 0.4m high. It has a slightly dished interior, the centre being 0.2m above the natural ground level, and a perimeter rim 0.1m high. Four stones about 0.3m across protrude 0.1m to 0.2m from the top of the rim bank but these are widely spaced and do not seem to be part of a retaining wall or structure. The cairn is situated 4.0m to the north of the Bearah Tor reave, at a point where the reave appears to have been stripped of much of its stone content. It would, however, be exceptional if the reave stone had been used for the cairn, particularly in view of the cairn to the east where the reverse seems to have taken place, and reaves generally seem to post-date cairns.

[Shown on the OS 1/25000 Explorer]

Cairn with cist at SX 2551 7426

A small round cairn with a central cist situated near other broadly contemporary cairns and a prehistoric linear boundary in the broad saddle between Bearah Tor and Langstone Downs. The cairn survives as a circular mound of heaped rubble, 5.3m in diameter and up to 0.5m high. The mound is covered by a thick peaty turf which has protected this cairn from earlier antiquarian discovery and disturbance. At the centre of the mound is a slab-built cist, rectangular in plan, with each side formed from a single slab 0.1m thick, giving an internal chamber measuring 1.1m long by 0.65m wide and 0.7m deep. The two side slabs and the end slab are upright. The cist’s covering slab is sub-circular, 1.0m in diameter and 0.15m thick, and has had small angular facets along its edge which may result from a recent, unsuccessful, attempt to fashion it into a millstone.

[Not shown on the OS 1/25000 Explorer]

An extensive but widely spread Bronze Age cairn cemetery occupies Twelve Men’s Moor, from the northern slopes of Kilmar Tor (at 396m OD, the third highest hilltop in Cornwall) down to the saddle between it and Hawk’s Tor.

Details of cairns from Cornwall & Scilly HER, generally north to south:

Cairn at SX 2511 7558

A cairn discovered during fieldwork by RCHME in 1983, on a flat valley floor in an area of partly cleared moorland pasture. In poor condition and measuring 4.9m in diameter, the cairn is much robbed and now merely the base of earthfast stones 0.1m high. Just off centre are two slabs, 0.3m-0.4m long and 0.3m high, set at almost a right angle, both leaning but very firmly embedded in the base stones. Possibly the remains of a small cist, but very uncertain.

Cairn and cist at SX 2511 7551

A cairn, first recorded by Trahair in 1978. Surveyed by RCHME in 1983. It lies on flat ground in an east – west ‘valley’ between Kilmar Tor and Trewortha Tor in an area of moorland bracken, furze and boulders. A round cairn of which only the south part survives, this measuring 9.0m by 4.0m and 0.8m high. Robbing has exposed a fine cist with four slabs set about 0.1m into the ground and standing about 0.5m above it. The cist, set in a NE-SW direction, measures 0.9m by 0.6m internally. A coverstone lies immediately to the north of the cist.

See themodernantiquarian.com/site/11120/twelve_mens_cist.html.

Group to the east of Trewortha
Cairn at SX 2479 7548

This cairn is part of a compact cairn group, to the east of Trewortha. It is marked on early OS maps as a ‘hut circle’ and was Scheduled as such by Mercer in 1978. It was surveyed from the air and from the ground by the RCHME in the 1980s. Shown as a cairn on the latest OS map. The cairn is located in a flat valley with a slight west slope, in an area of grazed pasture enclosed by rough moorland with boulders. It is circular, 15.4m in diameter, and 0.9m high. Top probably flat originally, but it has been disturbed.

Cairn at SX 2477 7547

It is located in a flat valley with a slight west slope, in an area of grazed pasture enclosed by rough moorland with boulders. The cairn is first recorded by Trahair, who considered that it could be the result of stone clearance. In 1983, it was surveyed by Quinnell onto the RCHME’s 1:2500 air photo plot. Described by Quinnell as a spread of stone 6.0m by 4.8m and 0.4m high.

Not shown on the OS 1/25000

Cairn at SX 2472 7545

It is located on a very slight south west slope in an area of pasture free of stone. Quinnell describes the cairn as a circular grass covered mound of stones 5.0m in diameter and 0.4m high.

Not shown on OS 1/25000

Cairn at SX 2471 7545

One of the larger cairns in the group. Marked as a cairn on the latest OS map. The cairn is almost circular, 9.3m in diameter and 1.1m high. There is an old excavation hollow in the top. Trahair suggests that this could be a clearance cairn, but Quinnell notes that if so, it must be prehistoric to have warranted exploration.

Cairn at SX 2474 7545

It is located on a very slight south west slope in an area of moorland pasture free of stone. The cairn was first recorded by Trahair, who considered that it could be the result of stone clearance. In 1983, it was surveyed by Quinnell onto the RCHME’s 1:2500 air photo plot. Quinnell describes the cairn as 5.0m in diameter and 0.8m high, with a small central excavation hollow.

Not shown on the OS 1/25000

Cairn at SX 2473 7545

The cairn was first recorded by Trahair, who considered that it could be the result of stone clearance. Quinnell describes the cairn as circular, 5.0m in diameter, and 0.7m high.

Not shown on the OS 1/25000

Possible cairn at SX 2470 7544

This possible cairn is a member of a compact cairn group located on a very slight south west slope, in an area of moorland pasture free of stone. The cairn was first discovered by Trahair, who suggested that it could be the result of clearance. Quinnell describes it as a triangular mound, 5.7m at its widest and 9.7m long and up to 0.7m high. It appears to have been recently disturbed.

Not shown on OS 1/25000
....

Cairn at SX 2487 7546

This cairn, which lies within a compact cairn field, is located in a flat valley with a slight west slope, in an area of grazed pasture enclosed by rough moorland with boulders. The cairn is circular, 11.8m in diameter, and 0.8m high. Top disturbed, but probably originally a flat platform type.

Possible long cairn at SX 2482 7543

This possible long cairn is part of a compact cairn group 500m to the east of Trewortha. It lies adjacent to an old track, in a flat valley with a slight west slope, in an area of grazed pasture enclosed by rough moorland with boulders. The cairn was probably first discovered by Trudgian and King, who made a rough survey of it in May 1974; although in 1974, Mercer scheduled a long cairn in the area which is probably to be identified with this. Quinnell describes the feature as a long low mound, 21m long, 3.7m wide and up to 0.8m high, though it varies a little throughout its length. Stone is exposed in part. Trudgian and King’s plan shows a number of kerb stones and a ‘marker’ stone at the east end. Considered to be a very likely long example of a prehistoric long cairn by Rose.

Not shown on the OS 1/25000

Cairn at SX 2520 7536

Cairn, first recorded by Trahair in 1978. Surveyed by RCHME in 1983. It lies in an area of boulders and bracken, on a very slight NW slope, consists of earth and stone, and measures 6.5m by 5.2m and 0.8m high. Two narrow trenches have been dug from the north and west towards the centre where there is north – south aligned pit measuring 2.1m by 0.8m wide and 0.4m deep. An upright slab forms the east side of the pit and to the north a stone about 1.0m square lies partly buried. Trehair’s view that this is a cairn and cist seems correct although it seems curious that coverstone, one end and one side stone are missing rather than displaced. There has been some clearance of small stones to the west of the cairn, possibly for its construction.

Cairn at SX 2557 7526

A probable prehistoric cairn located by RCHME air photo survey and surveyed on the ground by Quinnell in 1983. This cairn is on a slight northern slope, within an area of scattered stone, bracken and furze and is in fair condition. A moss and turf covered mound of stones, 6.5m in diameter and 0.5m high, with no evidence of excavation.

Cairn with kerb and cist at SX 2456 7503

This cairn is one in a group of three in scrubby moorland on a gentle west facing slope. It was first located by the OS reviser in 1958 and is shown on the 1963 OS map. It is mentioned by Trahair in his 1978 survey of barrows. The cairn is oval, measuring 5.1m by 4.4m overall and is up to 1.0m high on its lower side. It has a kerb of contiguous stones up to 1.1m high. The disturbed interior reveals a possible inner stone setting concentric with the kerb, 3.6m by 2.0m within which is a slab 1.4m long and 0.4m wide, aligned north west – south east, which may represent part of a cist. The residue of an excavation surrounds the cairn, with most of the material deposited to the north west.

Cairn with cist and kerb at SX 2452 7499

See themodernantiquarian.com/site/11123/trewortha_cairn_and_cist.html.