← Back to Cairns & Barrows · Back to the directory · Dartmoor Map
This scheduled monument comprises a round cairn, likely dating to the Bronze Age, that was later modified by tin prospecting activity. The prospecting pits that scar the site reflect centuries of tin working on Dartmoor, when miners sought the metal that made the moor valuable. The round cairn itself is a burial or ceremonial marker from an earlier era, when Bronze Age communities shaped the landscape with stone.
On the ground today, the site shows the palimpsest of Dartmoor's long use: the cairn structure overlaid by the shallow, irregular pits of tin prospectors. The location, on open moorland east of Down Tor, places it within the wider pattern of prehistoric and early industrial heritage that characterises the high moor. The site remains a quiet record of two very different periods of human activity on Dartmoor.
Explore further
Recommended online resources for heritage sites on Dartmoor:
Thoughts
Be the first to share a thought about Round cairn near Down Tor.
Share a thoughtRun a Dartmoor business, group or service like this one? Add yours to the directory, it is free.
Suggest a listing