BAJR
29th December 2011, 02:46 PM
The stones of the recently excavated Whitehorse Hill cist have been returned to their original location on northern Dartmoor by Dartmoor National Park Authority’s Archaeology and Conservation Works teams. The cist excavation revealed a collection of nationally important artefacts including beads, worked leather and textiles and cremated human remains.
The base stone of the cist had been taken to the Wiltshire Conservation Service laboratory in Chippenham to have the grave’s contents investigated by micro excavation. It was during this process that excitement mounted as more and more unique artefacts were uncovered.
The side and cover stones were left at the site and on Monday 12 December, with the help of a MOD all terrain vehicle, the base stone was returned to Whitehorse Hill.
Cists are stone built chests used for the burial of cremations or inhumations, and are found in the south west of England and elsewhere but are rarely found with their original contents. Some 200 cists are known on Dartmoor. They may be sunk into the ground or inserted into barrows or mounds. On Dartmoor the Whitehorse Hill cist is the only known example set within a peat mound.
The cist was first discovered over 10 years ago when one of its side stones fell out of the peat mound which had been concealing it. Since that time the peat has slowly eroded away from the sides and the top of the peat mound and after several attempts to protect the cist, a Scheduled Monument, the decision was taken by Dartmoor National Park Authority and English Heritage to excavate it in order to recover any surviving archaeological and environmental information before the site and its context were lost. It was also an important opportunity to better understand archaeological preservation within upland peat at a time of changes in upland management. This was the first excavation of a Dartmoor cist for nearly one hundred years.
Whilst the contents of the cist are currently the subject of scientific study and remain the cause of much interest nationally, the site and its stones are now able to be seen by walkers happy to make the trek out to the site.
The project was jointly funded by the Dartmoor National Park Authority and English Heritage, with contributions from a number of other local funders including the Dartmoor Trust, Dartmoor Preservation Association, Duchy of Cornwall, Devon County Council, Dr Jeremy Butler and Helpful Holidays.
The project was managed by Dartmoor National Park Authority with excavation work being carried out by archaeologists from the Historic Environment Projects Team, Cornwall Council, led by Andrew Jones, with assistance from English Heritage and Plymouth University specialists.
The base stone of the cist had been taken to the Wiltshire Conservation Service laboratory in Chippenham to have the grave’s contents investigated by micro excavation. It was during this process that excitement mounted as more and more unique artefacts were uncovered.
The side and cover stones were left at the site and on Monday 12 December, with the help of a MOD all terrain vehicle, the base stone was returned to Whitehorse Hill.
Cists are stone built chests used for the burial of cremations or inhumations, and are found in the south west of England and elsewhere but are rarely found with their original contents. Some 200 cists are known on Dartmoor. They may be sunk into the ground or inserted into barrows or mounds. On Dartmoor the Whitehorse Hill cist is the only known example set within a peat mound.
The cist was first discovered over 10 years ago when one of its side stones fell out of the peat mound which had been concealing it. Since that time the peat has slowly eroded away from the sides and the top of the peat mound and after several attempts to protect the cist, a Scheduled Monument, the decision was taken by Dartmoor National Park Authority and English Heritage to excavate it in order to recover any surviving archaeological and environmental information before the site and its context were lost. It was also an important opportunity to better understand archaeological preservation within upland peat at a time of changes in upland management. This was the first excavation of a Dartmoor cist for nearly one hundred years.
Whilst the contents of the cist are currently the subject of scientific study and remain the cause of much interest nationally, the site and its stones are now able to be seen by walkers happy to make the trek out to the site.
The project was jointly funded by the Dartmoor National Park Authority and English Heritage, with contributions from a number of other local funders including the Dartmoor Trust, Dartmoor Preservation Association, Duchy of Cornwall, Devon County Council, Dr Jeremy Butler and Helpful Holidays.
The project was managed by Dartmoor National Park Authority with excavation work being carried out by archaeologists from the Historic Environment Projects Team, Cornwall Council, led by Andrew Jones, with assistance from English Heritage and Plymouth University specialists.