MEM22492 - Possible burnt mound of unknown date on Spooners (Monument)

The Historic Environment Officer for the Exmoor Mires Project undertook a non-intrustive walkover survey of the proposed mire restoration area on Spooners, which included this site. An irregular oval mound was noted, measuring c. 10 metres long by 7 metres wide, with a stony make-up. It may be a natural feature, but may also be anthropogenic and part of a larger feature (MEM22478). [1] A metric survey on Spooner’s Allotment was carried out in 2014 to record and accurately map earthworks. A sub-circular stony mound lies at the confluence of two streams which form part of a tributary stream of the River Barle. It measures 8 metres northeast-southwest, 7 metres northwest-southeast and is a maximum of 0.5 metres high. It is linked to the east side of the burnt mound (MEM22478) by a scarp which forms a level area between the mounds and the edge of the stream. The installation of flow monitoring equipment in the stream nearby may have disturbed part of this feature but given the proximity of the burnt mound to the southwest this feature should be considered as a possible burnt mound, particularly as observations made during the installation of the flume recorded a possible buried soil at this location. [2]