Piles Hill cairns

Nearest town:
Rattery (8km ENE)
OS reference:
SX653609
OS sheet:
202
Latitude:
50° 25' 54.7 N
Longitude:
3° 53' 48.53 W
Added to TMA by

Images

Image of Piles Hill cairns (Cairn(s)) by thesweetcheat

The possible NE barrow, with the southern bell-cairn directly ahead and the northern cairn to the right.

Image credit: A. Brookes (10.6.2010)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat Jul 7, 2010
Image of Piles Hill cairns (Cairn(s)) by thesweetcheat

The northern cairn, looking towards the southern bell-cairn.

Image credit: A. Brookes (10.6.2010)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat Jul 7, 2010
Image of Piles Hill cairns (Cairn(s)) by thesweetcheat

The northern cairn, looking NNW to Sharp Tor. Three Barrows is on the right skyline.

Image credit: A. Brookes (10.6.2010)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat Jul 7, 2010
Image of Piles Hill cairns (Cairn(s)) by thesweetcheat

Section of the raised perimeter of the southern cairn, looking SSE towards Ugborough Beacon and Butterdon Hill.

Image credit: A. Brookes (10.6.2010)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat Jul 7, 2010
Image of Piles Hill cairns (Cairn(s)) by thesweetcheat

Approaching the southern bell-cairn from The Longstone.

Image credit: A. Brookes (10.6.2010)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat Jul 7, 2010

Articles

Piles Hill cairns

thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat Aug 23, 2010

There are two decent cairns on Piles Hill and one less certain one. The southern cairn is an unusual bell cairn, with a definite raised perimeter of approximately 30m diameter surrounding it. The central mound is very low however and is exceeded by that of the smaller northern cairn. The less-certain cairn lies a few metres further to the north-east and is a low green mound with no visible structural stones. Sharp Tor cairn, with typical walker-excrescence, is an obvious monument on the skyline to the NNW from here.

Miscellaneous

Piles Hill cairns
Cairn(s)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat Jul 7, 2010

There are two definite and one possible cairns on Piles Hill. Descriptions from Pastscape:

“(SX 65336084) Cairn

A cairn of rare type, consisting of a central mound, surrounded by a fairly level platform which is enclosed in an outer bank.

A bell-cairn of Wessex type situated at 387m. O.D. in a prominent position on Piles Hill. It is 29.0m. in overall diameter and comprises a platform 0.3m. high with the perimeter raised to a height of 0.5m. by the formation of a bank of stones incorporating a possible double row of orthostats although only the tops of these protrude. Centrally placed within the platform is a mound 17.0m. in diameter and 0.7m. high; it has suffered minor depredations with evidence of an excavation trench on the north side. The cairn could be described as a rimmed platform with central mound and is not common though examples occur in Cornwall on St. Breock Downs and Bodmin moor.

(SX 65326099) Cairn

A cairn 12.5m. in diameter and 1.1m. high situated on Piles Hill at about 385m. above O.D. There is an eccentric hollow in the mound, 4.0m. across and 1.0m. deep probably from excavation, but both the hollow and the mound are now mostly turf-covered.

(SX 65356104) Possible Cairn

At SX 65356104, 100m. north east of a cairn
(SX 66 SE 52), there is a circular mound measuring 8.5m. in overall diameter and 0.3m. high with a flat top 4.5m. across. It is not an obvious cairn since the mound appears to be of soil with no surface stone. There is however nothing to suggest that it is of modern origin and it is possibly a small bowl barrow, or perhaps an old peat mound.”

Sites within 20km of Piles Hill cairns

Like all websites everywhere, we use cookies.