MDE9000 - Prehistoric or later clearance cairns on Trentishoe Down (Monument)

A system of small clearance cairns on south side of Trentishoe Down, averaging 1.5 metres in diameter and 0.4 metres high. They appear to be prehistoric, though could be associated with later attempts at land improvement.

A scattered group of small cairns on the south and west side of Trentishoe Down, occupying an area of approximately 13 hectares, was noted on a site visit in 1985. [1] Centred at SS 6295 4764 on the southern slopes of Trentishoe Down is a system of small clearance cairns. The system lies on open moorland which has recently been burnt off. The ground surface has an apparently shallow depth of peat and is covered with small surface clitter. Some 37 cairns were recorded in the field. They average 1.5 metres in diameter and stand to 0.4 metres in height. They are composed of stones usually up to 0.3 metres in length (slightly larger than the stones littered over the present ground surface). The system is apparently prehistoric, although no settlement features could be found amongst the cairns or in immediate association with them. Assuming that it is prehistoric, then its proximity and relationship to the barrow group on Trentishoe Down (MDE1037) is of considerable interest. The nearest confirmed prehistoric settlement lies more than 300 metres to the north on the northern slopes of the Down (see MDE1040 and MDE8961), and also further northwest (MDE8574). The possibility that the clearance is associated with later attempts at land improvement cannot be ruled out (see MDE9001). Surveyed at 1:2500. [2-4] The site was visited in 1994, when its condition was noted to be stable. [5] Several of the larger cairns are visible on aerial photographs to the east and northeast of Trentishoe Barrows. These larger cairns measure up to 6 metres in diameter, and appear to be associated with the Trentishoe Barrow group (see MDE1037). The cairns are heavily obscured by vegetation. [6,7] 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]