MSO10376 - 19th Century quarry or prospecting pit south of Long Combe Stream (Monument)

A rounded, faceless, quarried depression is cut 2 metres deep into the hillside. This feature is close enough to the 19th Century field bank to suggest that the quarry pre dates the wall. [1] 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 81284262, approximately 475 metres to the southwest 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 pits date or function from aerial photographs alone. A larger pit nearby is marked on the First Edition Ordnance Survey map as a quarry. However, it is one of six similarly sized pits visible in this area, one of which, also marked on the First 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. Further fieldwork is necessary to determine the feature's function. [2-4] 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]