MMO2258 - Medieval or later peat cutting pits west of Dunkery Beacon (Monument)

Peat cutting pits, or turbaries, of possible medieval to modern date are visible as earthworks on aerial photographs to the west of Dunkery Beacon, Cutcombe parish, at circa SS 8848 4146. The cuttings can be seen throughout an area of disturbed ground approximately 2.6 hectares in area. They vary from barely visible individual shallow square or circular pits 1 to 2 metres across, to larger irregularly shaped sub-rectangular and curvilinear cuttings, up to 50 metres or more long, reflecting the cumulative nature of the peat extraction. Peat cutting on Exmoor possibly reached its peak in the first half of the 19th Century but continued on a small scale into the 20th Century. [1-3] A study of the archaeology and history of peat exploitation on Exmoor’s moorlands provides additional background on the practice and sites. [4] This record was enhanced as part of the National Record of the Historic Environment to Exmoor National Park Historic Environment Record data transfer project. [5]