MMO2514 - 19th Century quarry or prospecting pit south of Long Combe (Monument)

A small quarry or prospecting pit is visible as an earthwork on aerial photographs of the 1940s onwards, on the higher north facing slopes of Long Combe, centred at circa SS 8113 4273, approximately 620 metres to the west of Larkbarrow Cottage. The pit is roughly circular in shape with a diameter of approximately 8 metres. It is not possible to be sure of the pit's date or function from aerial photographs alone. A larger pit about 10 metres to the north is marked on the 1st Edition Ordnance Survey map as a quarry. However, it is one of at least six similarly sized pits visible in this area, one of which, also marked on the 1st Edition Ordnance Survey map, has been identified on the ground as a mineral prospecting pit. This may support the interpretation that the pit is possibly of late 19th Century date, but further fieldwork is necessary to determine the feature's function. [1-3] This record was enhanced as part of the National Record of the Historic Environment to Exmoor National Park Historic Environment Record data transfer project. [4]