MMO115 - Bronze Age burial cairn at Ruckham Combe (Monument)
Summary
Please read the Exmoor National Park Historic Environment Record caveat document.
Type and Period (1)
Protected Status
- None recorded
Full Description
SS 7273 4277. Small circular bank with gap seen on aerial photographs. Probably a modern sheep shelter. [1] Mrs Kempson reports a possible ring cairn at SS 7275 4275, supported by a loaned photograph. This shows a platform of turf covered stones, overall about 7 metres across with a rim of exposed stones around the northern parimeter. The monument is on the lip of a steep east slope in a totally exposed position. (The National Grid Reference suggests it is the site described in the NAR as `probably a modern sheep shelter' which seems totally inappropriate, visually and positionally. Re assessment necessary). [2] SS 72726 42770. A cairn, 5 metres in diameter and 0.5 metres high. This feature is not a sheep shelter (as suggested by [1]), it is the remains of a prehistoric burial cairn. It is prominently situated on gently sloping ground in rough grassland and rushes, some 440 metres above Ordnance Datum. It lies in an angle between a field drain on the south and a stream, the headwaters of the West Lyn River, on the west at the head of Ruckham Combe. The ground drops away steeply on the north side giving excellent visibility down Ruckham Combe from the northwest around to the northeast but the remaining view to the south is blocked by the rising ground of The Chains. The partly turf covered cairn is consolidated but has been disturbed centrally, some of its contents of small and large stones dumped around it, especially in the northeast, tumbling down the slope and partly obscurring the otherwise well defined rim. It is built up, about a maximum of 1.1 metres high, in the southwest above the West Lyn headwaters but otherwise it is generally about 0.5 metres high. The predominance of the stone is therefore around the rim, giving the erroneous impression of a 'ring' cairn or a small collapsed sheepfold. Surveyed at 1:2500. [3] SS 7274 4274. The monument is clearly visible on infra red aerial photograph taken for Exmoor National Park Authority in 1983 as a small stony ring, measuring between 7 and 9 metres in diameter. Given its location it could easily be mistaken for a hut circle or ring cairn, but the conclusions drawn by [3] seem most likely. [5,6] The feature is marked on the 2021 MasterMap data at SS 7272 4276 and labelled "Cairn". [7] This record was enhanced as part of the National Record of the Historic Environment to Exmoor National Park Historic Environment Record data transfer project. [8]
Sources/Archives (8)
- <1> SMO4068 Aerial photograph: Various. Various. Vertical Aerial Photograph. RAF CPE/UK/1980 3149-3150 (11 April 1947).
- <2> SMO7316 Unpublished document: PALMER, JP. Mid 1960s. Field Investigators Comments. Ordnance Survey visit, 7 June 1965.
- <3> SMO5308 Verbal communication: Various. Various. Oral Information. Pers. Comm from M Kempson, Ilfracombe, 4 December 1989.
- <4> SMO7324 Unpublished document: Sainsbury, I.S.S. Field Investigators Comments. RCHME Field Investigation, 4 May 1995.
- <5> SMO4068 Aerial photograph: Various. Various. Vertical Aerial Photograph. IRFC 5804-05 (1983).
- <6> SMO7565 Archive: English Heritage. 2007-2009. Exmoor National Park NMP: SS 74 SW. MD002182.
- <7>XY SEM340794 Map: Ordnance Survey. 2021. MasterMap data. 1:2,500. [Mapped feature: #40482 ]
- <8> SEM7987 Digital archive: Historic England. Various. National Record of the Historic Environment (NRHE) entry. 35499, Extant 12 January 2022.
External Links (1)
- http://www.pastscape.org.uk/hob.aspx?hob_id=35499 (Original Monarch entry: 35499)
Other Statuses/References
- Exmoor National Park HER Number (now deleted): MSO10885
- Exmoor National Park HER Number (now deleted): MSO6846
- Local List Status (Unassessed)
- National Monuments Record reference: SS 74 SW63
- NRHE HOB UID (Pastscape): 35499
- Somerset SMR PRN: 33024
Location
Grid reference | Centred SS 7272 4276 (13m by 13m) Aerial Survey |
---|---|
Map sheet | SS74SW |
Civil Parish | EXMOOR, WEST SOMERSET, SOMERSET |
Finds (0)
Related Monuments/Buildings (0)
Related Events/Activities (1)
Record last edited
Jan 12 2022 4:26PM
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