Stone alignment, Ringmoor Down

Historic England's scheduling record (list entry 1012246) describes the Ringmoor Down stone alignment, a double row of stones 337 metres long running north-east to south-west, with a cairn and kerb at the south-west end and an upright stone 1.1 metres high at the north end. It runs close to the 290 metre contour and has twenty-seven standing stones from 0.15 to 1.25 metres high. Robbing has reduced the number of stones, but the opposing pairs are on average 1.4 metres apart. It lies in the parish of Sheepstor, about 0.8 km north-west of Legis Tor and 1.7 km south of Sheepstor.

The cairn is 7 metres across and 0.4 metres high and is ringed by a kerb 12.9 metres across. Baring-Gould restored the kerb in 1909. Before that, one stone stood and four had fallen, with sockets recorded for a further six. There are now ten standing stones, the original one 0.7 metres high and the restored, brought-in stones up to 0.9 metres high.

Historic England puts the roughly 70 stone rows known on Dartmoor in the Late Neolithic, about 2500 BC, and notes that they often lead to burial monuments such as small cairns, cists and barrows, which is why they are thought to have had a ceremonial role.

Sources: Historic England list entry 1012246, which cites the Devon County Sites and Monuments Register SX56NE-008 and 008.1.

• Period: Bronze Age
• Status: Scheduled monument (Historic England list entry 1012246)
• Grid reference: SX 5636 6596 (approximate, from the listing's coordinates)