MSO6801 - Bronze Age burial cairn on Long Holcombe (Monument)
Summary
Please read the Exmoor National Park Historic Environment Record caveat document.
Type and Period (2)
Protected Status
- None recorded
Full Description
SS 766 355 A barrow is depicted on the 1st edition Ordnance Survey mapping of 1809, recorded as 'One Barrow Down'. [1] SS 766355 approx. Exmoor 23. Field investigation by both the Ordnance Survey, and Grinsell and Norman Quinnell, revealed no trace of a barrow in the area. [2,3] MacDermot noted the inaccuracy of many of the Exmoor 1st Edition 1 inch maps, indicating that the positioning information of the barrow may be incorrect. [2-4] Comparison of the 1st Edition Ordnance Survey 1809 mapping [1] and the modern Ordnance Survey map indicated that One Barrow should be 1 kilometre further northeast than had been supposed. A moss covered mound some 3 to 3.5 metres in diameter and 0.5 metres high was located at SS 774 360 on Wintershead Common, sometimes mis named Long Holcombe, in February 1980. It appears to be a small Bronze Age round barrow, with two stones protruding, one sandstone, one quartz, and probing indicated others. A line of rushes grew about two thirds of the way round the circumference with a gap to the west. The mound is isolated and there seems no evidence that the land has ever been cleared or cultivated. (It seems that it is not One Barrow which is erroneously shown on the 1st Edition Ordnance Survey map, but the position of the county boundary). The barrow appears to be in the location discovered by Eardley-Wilmot, but the relationship between the barrow and the mis-placed boundary has led to previous mis-siting. [1,6,7] Centred at SS 7731 3600 and located on the summit of Long Holcombe is a prehistoric cairn. It comprises a largely turf and moss-covered, flat-topped stony mound 15.3 metres in diameter and 0.4 metres high. Its summit is uneven suggesting some minor stone robbing, however the bulk of the mound is intact. The cairn has extensive views in all directions and it lies 106 metres northwest of a standing stone (MSO7084). Surveyed at 1:2500 scale, December 94. [8,9] The cairn described above is visible on aerial photographs as a slight earthwork on Long Holcombe. It lies within an area of peat cutting and some of the damage mentioned above may be due to this activity. [10,11] This record was enhanced as part of the National Record of the Historic Environment to Exmoor National Park Historic Environment Record data transfer project. [13] The feature is depicted on the 2021 MasterMap data at SS 7730 3600 and is labelled "Cairn". [14]
Sources/Archives (13)
- <1>XY SSO1424 Map: Ordnance Survey. 1809. 1" 1st edition. [Mapped feature: #47720 Original quoted grid reference, ]
- <2> SMO5467 Article in serial: Grinsell, L.V.. 1969. Somerset Barrows. Part I: West and South. Proceedings of the Somerset Archaeological and Natural History Society. 113. p 17, 33.
- <3> SMO7316 Unpublished document: PALMER, JP. Mid 1960s. Field Investigators Comments. Ordnance Survey visit, F1, 2 September 1965.
- <4> SMO5058 Monograph: MacDermot, E.T.. 1973. The History of the Forest of Exmoor. David and Charles Limited. Revised Edition. 25.
- <6> SSO1077 Unpublished document: Eardley-Wilmot, H. March 1980. Eardley-Wilmot, H to Somerset County Council.
- <7>XY SSO1073 Unpublished document: Eardley-Wilmot, H. 15.9.1980. Eardley-Wilmot, H to Somerset County Council. [Mapped feature: #47723 Second quoted grid reference, ]
- <8> SMO4109 Serial: Somerset Archaeological and Natural History Society. 1851-. Proceedings of the Somerset Archaeological and Natural History Society. Volume 124 (1980), 115-6.
- <9> SMO7329 Unpublished document: Wilson-North, R.. Various. Field Investigators Comments. RCHME Field Investigation, 14 December 1994.
- <10> SMO4068 Aerial photograph: Various. Various. Vertical Aerial Photograph. NMR OS/73086 821-22 (17 April 1973).
- <11> SMO7573 Archive: 2007-2009. Exmoor National Park NMP: SS 73 NE. MD002190.
- <12> SEM8492 Report: Riley, H.. 2017. Archaeological Walkover Survey: Long Holcombe, Exmoor, Exmoor Mires Partnership ELH17, Project Report.
- <13> SEM7987 Digital archive: Historic England. Various. National Record of the Historic Environment (NRHE) entry. 35001, Extant 17 November 2021.
- <14>XY SEM340794 Map: Ordnance Survey. 2021. MasterMap data. 1:2,500. [Mapped feature: #47724 Location of feature, ]
External Links (1)
- http://www.pastscape.org.uk/hob.aspx?hob_id=35001 (Original Monarch entry: 35001)
Other Statuses/References
- Exmoor National Park HER Number (now deleted): MMO48
- Exmoor National Park HER Number (now deleted): MSO10980
- Local List Status (Unassessed)
- National Monuments Record reference: SS 73 NE7
- National Park
- NRHE HOB UID (Pastscape): 35001
- Somerset SMR PRN (Somerset): 33119
Location
Grid reference | Centred SS 7700 3575 (800m by 517m) (3 map features) |
---|---|
Map sheet | SS73NE |
Civil Parish | EXMOOR, WEST SOMERSET, SOMERSET |
Finds (0)
Related Monuments/Buildings (0)
Related Events/Activities (3)
Record last edited
Nov 17 2021 9:05AM
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