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.
OS Map: SX 68686 81656
HER: MDV127183
ShortName: PO:Birch Tor
Notes: "The pool at Birch Tor measures around 15.5m. One of over 40 such 'sacred' pools identified on Dartmoor that are thought to have potentially been designed during the prehistoric period."
Nearby sites: SX 68686 81656
Distance: 1.96km
OS Map: SX 68686 81654
HER: MDV6673
Megalithic Portal: 34981
Alternate name: Birch Tor Summit Cairn
ShortName: CN:Birch Tor
Butler map: 24.4
Grinsell: N.BOV 1
Barrow Report: 56
Notes: "The heavily disturbed remains of a large, flat-topped cairn lie on the ridge crest 230 metres north of Birch Tor. The centre and south margin of this feature have apparently suffered from an unrecorded excavation with spoil dumped to the south and on the east fringe of the mound. Two large upright slabs are embedded in the unexcavated interior of the cairn and may have previously been interpreted as elements of a kerb even though they lie several metres in from the actual edge of the feature. 10m to the north-west of the cairn is a warren boundary stone inscribed with the letters`WB'on its eastern side."
Nearby sites: SX 68686 81654
Distance: 1.96km
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: 1.99km
Prehistoric Dartmoor Walks: Dartmoor Site: Challacombe Down Triple Stone Row
OS Map: SX 6898 8084
HER: MDV49462
Megalithic Portal: 1819
PMD: Challacombe Down Stone Row
ShortName: CC Challacombe
Butler map: 24.3
Butler Vol 5: p.239 & Fig.169
Turner: G20
Notes: Dubious site - the current arrangement relates to stones placed during restoration of the stone row. See Worth (1953) p. 226 on how "nothing coherent" came of attempts to re-erect stones scattered to the west of the north end of the row which gave the appearance of a stone circle.
Nearby sites: SX 6898 8084
Distance: 1.57km
Prehistoric Dartmoor Walks: Dartmoor Site: Challacombe Down Triple Stone Row
OS Map: SX 69021 80723
HER: MDV6600
Megalithic Portal: 10092
PMD: Challacombe Stone Row
ShortName: SS Challacombe
Butler map: 24.3
DPD page: 126
Notes: The largest and most prominent blocking stone of the Dartmoor rows is to be found at the Challacombe triple row. Worth states that it is over 5 feet in width at the base and over 6 feet in height. Butler (Vol. 2) states that the terminal pillar is today 0.5m shorter than when it was measured in 1893.
Nearby sites: SX 69021 80723
Distance: 1.54km
Prehistoric Dartmoor Walks: Dartmoor Site: Challacombe Down Triple Stone Row
OS Map: SX 69016 80718
HER: MDV6600
Megalithic Portal: 1819
The Stone Rows of GB: Challacombe Down
PMD: Challacombe Stone Row
ShortName: SR Challacombe
Butler map: 24.3
Butler Vol 5: p.239 & Fig.169
DPD page: 126
Notes: "Bronze Age triple stone row well marked and wider apart at the north, drawing nearer to the south where they meet a blocking stone of unusual size. The stones have suffered little in their restoration except that a stone in the middle row was turned to form a blocking stone for that row. The loose stones scattered to the west of the north end have been suggested to form a stone circle and additional rows but may be stones excavated from the north end of the stone row."
Nearby sites: SX 69016 80718
Distance: 1.54km
OS Map: SX 67158 81299
HER: MDV6674
Megalithic Portal: 34690
PMD: Water Hill Possible Chambered Cairn
Alternate name: Water Hill 1 Cairn
ShortName: CN Kings Oven
Butler map: 26.5.1
Butler Vol 5: p.156 & Fig.95
Grinsell: CHA 6
Notes: Situated at SX 67158129 on the rounded summit of Water Hill is the remains of a substantial round cairn 18.0 metres in diameter and up to 1.4 metres high in the east and 0.9 metres in the west. The whole of the central area of the cairn has been robbed to construct a superimposed modern boundary cairn 4.0 metres in diam and 2.1 metres high. This has given a 'dished' appearance to the cairn proper. Several large slabs averging 0.8 metres by 0.7 metres scattered around the base of the boundary cairn may be the remains of a destroyed cist.
The southern flat topped cairn measures 18 metres in diameter and 1.5 metres in height and is surmounted by a modern stone pile. A large slab situated to the south of this pile may have been part of a cist.
Nearby sites: SX 67158 81299
Distance: 1.41km
Prehistoric Dartmoor Walks: Dartmoor Site: Soussons Cairn Circle
OS Map: SX 67718 79650
HER: MDV6007
Megalithic Portal: 34986
PMD: Red Barrows
Alternate name: Red Barrows 1 Cairn
ShortName: CN RedBarrows
Butler map: 24.2.1
Grinsell: MAN 5
Notes: Four Bronze Age round barrows between 10 and 20 meters in diameter and 0.5 to 2.2 meters high. One barrow was excavated in 1902, finds included pottery and flints. See also HER records, 6004, 6005, 6006, 6007.
Nearby sites: SX 67718 79650
Distance: 0.33km
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: 1.29km
Prehistoric Dartmoor Walks: Dartmoor Site: Soussons Cairn Circle
OS Map: SX 6767 7998
HER: MDV6015
Megalithic Portal: 2136
The Stone Rows of GB: Soussons Down
PMD: Red Barrows Stone Row
Alternate name: Soussons Down Stone Row
ShortName: SRxRed Barrows
Butler map: 24.2
Notes: Triple row destroyed in 1946 Butler Vol. 5 p38, Vol. 3 Map 24.2 p.19. The row was associated with a cairn about 300m north of the four Red Barrow cairn group (SX 67 NE 3).
Nearby sites: SX 6767 7998
Distance: 0.00km
Page last updated 18/02/24