Prehistoric sites within 2km of SX 68500 82710

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.

• Core sites Default listing of core sites consisting of stone circles & rows and some of the major ring cairns.
• Plus cairns adds approx. 1000 cairns and other minor sites not included in the core listings but excluding round houses.
• Plus round houses adds approx. 4800 round houses.
• Plus non-sites adds in the records for sites that no longer exist or are not prehistoric sites.
• Plus duplicates adds records excluded as duplicates. Those maybe duplicate records in external listings (e.g. the Historic Environment Records). For example, some sites have been identified as cairns in some listings and interpreted as round houses in other listings and both records appear.

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.

List of sites within 2km of SX 68500 82710

Leapra Rings Enclosure

OS Map: SX 700 826
HER: MDV26675
ShortName: EN:Leapra
Notes: HER: Leapra Rings consists of three possibly Prehistoric circular features on Shapeley Common

Butler: Leapra Rings on steeply sloping ground on Shapley Common consist of three roughly circular banks levelled into the hillside. They are 10 - 12 metres in daimeter and over a metre high in places. About a third of the periphery is missing from the northern ring, perhaps not an original feature as neither of the orhters now has any visible entrance and their purposes is uncertain as they are too large for huts. A few slabs set edgeways show above the truf covered banks, occasionally paired and infilled with smaller stones in typically Prehistoric fashion.

Butler continues: Another enigmatic site lies in the second field to the north, on a good settlement site just above the damp ground surrounding the Leapra Brook. The overgrown remains are almost unrecognizable but appear to be of prehistoric construction like those above, perhpas a hut with a small paddock attached.

See also entries for round houses all of which are associated with the same HER entry: Shapley Tor N (SiteID=8275), Shapley Tor N (SiteID=8276) and Shapley Tor N (SiteID=8277)
Nearby sites: SX 700 826
Distance: 1.50km

Birch Tor Ancient Pool

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: 1.07km

Birch Tor Cairn

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: 1.07km

Bush Down Settlement

OS Map: SX 6849 8217
HER: MDV6596
Megalithic Portal: 7699
ShortName: ST:BushDown
Nearby sites: SX 6849 8217
Distance: 0.54km

Challacombe Down Cairn Circle

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: 1.93km

Heath Stone Standing Stone

Prehistoric Dartmoor Walks: Dartmoor Site: Hurston Ridge Double Stone Row
OS Map: SX 67133 83755
HER: MDV6650
Megalithic Portal: 14933
ShortName: SS Heath Stone
Butler map: 25.
Notes: The original Heath Stone was a boundary stone which was referred to in the Perambulation of the Forest of Dartmoor in 1240 and some very early maps. According to Butler (Vol. 2 Map 25 p.32) the stone carved with a biblical inscription in 1970 that is currently known as the Heath Stone is unlikely to have been the original Heath Stone as it is in a useless position to be of any use as a boundary stone. The stone was not included in maps from the 18th century and then reappeared in a different location. It is doubtful that the current stone is the original or that it is prehistoric. Crossing suggests that the large standing stone in the Hurston Ridge stone row is the actual Heath Stone. See also, Legendary Dartmoor: The Dartmoor Heathstone
Nearby sites: SX 67133 83755
Distance: 1.72km

Hookney Tor Cairn

OS Map: SX 69905 81314
HER: MDV6611
Megalithic Portal: 34982
Alternate name: Hookney Tor summit Cairn
ShortName: CN HookneyTor
Butler map: 20.7
Grinsell: N.BOV 2
Notes: Tor cairn north of Hookney Tor and resembling a barrow in shape. Enough of the topsoil has been removed to show that the mound is a natural outcrop feature covered with turf and heather, enclosed on three sides by a broken turf and stone bank. A footpath approaching the west side has probably effaced the remainder of the circuit.
Nearby sites: SX 69905 81314
Distance: 1.98km

Hookney Tor North A Ancient Pool

OS Map: SX 69843 81721
HER: MDV127212
ShortName: PO HookneyTorA
Notes: "A pool measuring 15 by 9.5m. One of over 40 such 'sacred' pools identified on Dartmoor that are thought to have potentially been designed during the prehistoric period. Lies near a prehistoric cairn."
Nearby sites: SX 69843 81721
Distance: 1.67km

Hookney Tor North B Ancient Pool

OS Map: SX 69838 81605
HER: MDV127213
ShortName: PO HookneyTorB
Notes: "A pool measuring 7.5m. 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 69838 81605
Distance: 1.74km

Hurston Ridge Standing Stone

Prehistoric Dartmoor Walks: Dartmoor Site: Hurston Ridge Double Stone Row
OS Map: SX 67268 82444
HER: MDV6541
Megalithic Portal: 8345
PMD: Hurston Ridge Standing Stone
ShortName: SS Hurston
Butler map: 25.9
DPD page: 136
Notes: Hurston Ridge is one of the best examples of a double stone now on Dartmoor. At the south end is a cairn 22 feet in diameter. The space between the rows widens intentionally as it approaches the cairn. The first stone from the south in the eastern row is the largest stone and stands 5 feet 10 inches high. Crossing suggests this may have been the original Heath Stone.
Nearby sites: SX 67268 82444
Distance: 1.26km

Hurston Ridge Settlement

OS Map: SX 674 825
HER: MDV6668
Megalithic Portal: 34979
ShortName: ST Hurston
Butler map: 25.9
Nearby sites: SX 674 825
Distance: 1.12km

Hurston Ridge Stone Row

Prehistoric Dartmoor Walks: Dartmoor Site: Hurston Ridge Double Stone Row
OS Map: SX 67260 82437
HER: MDV6541
Megalithic Portal: 8345
The Stone Rows of GB: Hurston Ridge
PMD: Hurston Ridge Stone Row
ShortName: SR Hurston
Butler map: 25.9
Butler Vol 5: p.228 & Fig.161
DPD page: 136
Notes: .Worth: Watern Hill. "A stone alignment which includes two parallel lines of upright stones leading downslope for 143 metres from a round cairn. The lower end of the alignment is denoted by a blocking stone. Midway along the alignment a length of later enclosure walling crosses the row. The cairn at the upper end of the alignment measures 5.9 metres in diameter and stands up to a height of 0.6 metres. A large slab denoting the north eastern edge of the cairn may represent a second blocking stone of the associated alignment." A number of the stones were restored to their original sockets in 1894. A broken hand axe was discovered in the pit in which one of the stones had stood near to the menhir next to the cairn. First observed by Mr. George French of Postbridge.
Nearby sites: SX 67260 82437
Distance: 1.27km

King's Oven (Water Hill) Cairn

OS Map: SX 67158 81299
HER: MDV6674
Megalithic Portal: 34690
PMD: Water Hill Possible Chambered Cairn
Alternate name: Water Hill 1 Cairn
ShortName: CN WaterHill 1
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: 1.95km

Shapley Common Standing Stone

OS Map: SX 69992 82248
PMD: Shapley Common
ShortName: SS Shapley
Butler map: 23.5
Butler Vol 5: p.212
Notes: Possible standing stone, see Butler Vol V (1997) p 212.
Nearby sites: SX 69992 82248
Distance: 1.56km

Shapley Common Round House

OS Map: SX 6942 8206
HER: MDV6553
Megalithic Portal: 45859
ShortName: HC:ShapleyComm
DPD page: 128
Notes: Lethbridge p.128 Hut Circle on Shapley Common - particularly fine example.
Nearby sites: SX 6942 8206
Distance: 1.13km

West Vitifer Cist

OS Map: SX 67575 82802
HER: MDV6615
Megalithic Portal: 34980
PMD: Chagford Common
ShortName: CT WestVitif 1
Butler map: 25.11
Grinsell: CHA 4
Barrow Report: 16
Notes: "Possible location of a Bronze Age cist, although when subject to field investigation in November 2002 the site was not found" "The cairn was partially excavated in 1897 by the Barrow Committee of the Devonshire Association. This working revealed a ring of slabs surrounding a cist which had not been previously examined. In the cist there was a complete Bronze Age beaker together with charcoal but no trace of a burial." Cairn survives, restored urn thought to be in Plymouth museum. See: Sixteenth Barrow Report 1897. Butler Vol. 2. Map 25.11 ( p.32).

The author visited this site on 10 May 2024. I took photos of a possible candidate but I was unconvinced I had located the site so a wide search was undertaken of the vicinity within approx. 100 m. My initial conclusion is that the site cannot be located. However, as a desktop exercise on 23/05/24 I'm inclined to think I had actually located it. It is the dip behind the stone which appears on the RHS of the photo. This coincides within a very short distance with the location I had previously determined using satellite and also to the location given in the scheduled monument SX 67571 82800.
Nearby sites: SX 67575 82802
Distance: 0.93km

Yardworthy Stone Row

OS Map: SX 67605 84395
HER: MDV61337
Megalithic Portal: 6333471
The Stone Rows of GB: Yardworthy
PMD: Yardworthy
ShortName: SR Yardworthy
Notes: Quinnell quoted on HER: Stone row in Yardworthy Newtake, an area of rough pasture that has since undergone some stone clearance. Apparently the remains of a double row it starts 3.0 metres from a low barrow at SX67608438 and extends to the north-east for 7.0 metres. The north-west side consists of four stones, 2.0 to 2.5 metres apart. The south-eastern side about 1.4 metres distant has only one stone and two turf humps which may conceal others. Visible stones are barely 0.1 metres high. Immediately beyond the north-east end is a hollow or stone pit about 4.0 by 2.0 metres diameter. This, and clearance in the area may have destroyed any continuation.

The stones of the row are around 20 cm in length and almost impossible to photograph as a collection. There is a goood plan to the site on the Stone Rows of great Britain linked in the listings above.

The site was visited by the author and Steve Szypko on 03/03/2025 and we found 3 of the 4 stones reportedly visible - the other may have been under surface water. It is almost impossible to capture these small stones in one photo so a montage of 4 photos is linked to this record; the cairn and the 3 stones found. The cairn and row was difficult to find.

The stones of the stone row stones were recorded on a Garmin GPS device at: SX 67605 84398, SX 67605 84395, SX 67606 84395. The cairn is centred at SX 67601 84390.


Nearby sites: SX 67605 84395
Distance: 1.91km