MDE8690 - Bronze Age burial cairn at The Foreland (Monument)

A Bronze Age burial cairn, 7.9 metres in diameter and 0.4 metres high, is located on the extreme northern tip of The Foreland. Two other features nearby may be the remains of cairns or natural outcrops. Summary from record MDE21879: Small stone cairn on the summit of The Foreland at the eastern end of a small group of relict fields shown as two features on 19C map Summary from record MMO274: The remains of a probable Bronze Age Cairn are visible on aerial photographs and at ground level on the northern tip of The Foreland. Some 19 metres to the south-east are the remains of a second possible cairn. Around 34 metres to the south-south-west are the remains of a third feature, similar in form and size to the second, but almost certainly a natural outcrop.

A. At SS 7534 5084, on the extreme northern tip of The Foreland, are the remains of a cairn. It is circular with a diameter of 7.9 metres and its edge is defined by a compact turf covered scarp up to 0.4 metres high. The centre of the cairn has been rebuilt in modern times, it is 7.3 metres north-south by 3.9 metres west to east, and is 0.6 metres high. It consists simply of loose stones forming a marker cairn. B. Some 19 metres to the southeast are the remains of a possible cairn. It measures 9 metres in diameter and is 0.4 metres high. The centre is composed largely of worn, small stones whilst the perimeter is turfy. It lies on east facing slopes. It is possible that either the feature is weathered natural outcrop, although no living rock is visible, or that it represents an outcrop with surface stone piled onto it. C. 34 metres to the south-southwest are the remains of a third feature, similar in form and size to the second, but almost certainly a natural outcrop. A and B are depicted on the 1st Edition Ordnance Survey 25 inch sheet [1] as a pair of circular features edged by pecks and stippled; they are not described. [2] A and B are both visible on aerial photographs as small circular mounds on the northern tip of the The Foreland, above Foreland Lighthouse. The third feature is not visible. [3,4] There is a small stone cairn approximately 6 metres in diameter situated on the summit of The Foreland at the eastern end of a small group of relict fields (see MDE8691) observed during the survey by the National Trust in 2004. It may be a field clearance cairn but the location suggests a prehistoric burial. [5,6] This record was enhanced as part of the National Record of the Historic Environment to Exmoor National Park Historic Environment Record data transfer project. [7]