<< Our Photo Pages >> Meacombe Cist - Burial Chamber or Dolmen in England in Devon
Submitted by hamish on Monday, 15 November 2004 Page Views: 10583
Neolithic and Bronze AgeSite Name: Meacombe Cist Alternative Name: Cleave Burial Chamber; Dixon 46; Butler Meacombe Cist (V5 p155); Grinsell List A Chagford 1Country: England County: Devon Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen
Nearest Town: Chagford Nearest Village: Middle Drewston
Map Ref: SX7249486904
Latitude: 50.667801N Longitude: 3.805627W
Condition:
| 5 | Perfect |
| 4 | Almost Perfect |
| 3 | Reasonable but with some damage |
| 2 | Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site |
| 1 | Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks |
| 0 | No data. |
| -1 | Completely destroyed |
| 5 | Superb |
| 4 | Good |
| 3 | Ordinary |
| 2 | Not Good |
| 1 | Awful |
| 0 | No data. |
| 5 | Can be driven to, probably with disabled access |
| 4 | Short walk on a footpath |
| 3 | Requiring a bit more of a walk |
| 2 | A long walk |
| 1 | In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find |
| 0 | No data. |
| 5 | co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates |
| 4 | co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map |
| 3 | co-ordinates scaled from a bad map |
| 2 | co-ordinates of the nearest village |
| 1 | co-ordinates of the nearest town |
| 0 | no data |
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Anne T visited on 12th May 2019 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 4 Access: 4 Meacombe Cist: We'd arrived in Devon in a torrential downpour, although this had cleared in the evening. The sheer amount of rain might have contributed to ripping away the road surface at the edge of the road leading to this burial chamber.
The roads to this burial chamber were atrocious, with very deep potholes and a centre ‘bank’ of earth and grass, which at times tickled the underneath of the car - we debated about turning back at one point. The road was so narrow and parking so difficult that we parked in the next field gate to the north of the cist. Andrew stayed with the car whilst I let myself into the adjacent field, which also looked as if it had archaeology (but are just rocky outcrops, nothing on Pastscape or HE), but didn’t stop as Andrew needed to move the car. Took some quick photos, then ran back.
I was worried about trespassing, but there was a well worn tractor track into an open gate into the next field, then a track from the gate to the burial chamber.
We had hoped to see the enclosure and hut circle to the south west, but no way of stopping, nor could we see any sensible places to stop.
Note: I only found this a 'short walk on the footpath' from the adjacent field.
graemefield visited on 22nd Oct 2013 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 4 Access: 3
TimPrevett AngieLake TheCaptain hamish have visited here
Average ratings for this site from all visit loggers: Condition: 3.5 Ambience: 4 Access: 3.5
Take the B3212 west out on the village and take the second turning on the right. When you see Meacombe Farm start checking field gates on the left, you should see the site by looking back.It is possible to park in the next gate down if you squeeze in.
This cist is recorded as Pastscape Monument No. 445481 and scheduled as Historic England List ID 1004570. Historic England describes this cist as "one of a group of extremely rare monuments" and adds: "The monument includes a chambered tomb situated on a north west facing slope overlooking the valley of a tributary to the River Teign. The chambered tomb survives as two upright stones which support a massive capstone. The whole measures up to 1.4m long by 1.2m wide and 1.2m high externally and encloses a chamber measuring up to 0.8m long, 0.6m wide and 0.8m high internally. There is no trace of a surrounding cairn or retaining circle visible above the ground surface".
Update November 2019: This cist is featured on the Prehistoric Dartmoor Walks (PDW) website - see their entry for the Meacombe Cist, which adds "this is sometimes mistaken for a chambered tomb due to the enormous size of the cover slab but it is more likely a cist".
The cist is also recorded as MDV8231 (Meacome burial chamber, Chagford) on the Devon and Dartmoor HER.
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Nearby sites listing. In the following links * = Image available
230m SSE 151° Meacombe Cist Landscape Natural Stone / Erratic / Other Natural Feature (SX726867)
1.1km SW 231° Chagford Druid's Well* Holy Well or Sacred Spring (SX71658625)
1.2km WSW 246° Shorter Cross* Ancient Cross (SX7136886437)
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2.4km WNW 284° Chagford Cross* Ancient Cross (SX7020187542)
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2.7km NE 55° Butterdon Down West* Standing Stone (Menhir) (SX74788840)
2.8km S 186° Hele Cross* Ancient Cross (SX7213384164)
2.8km SE 139° Horspit Cross* Ancient Cross (SX7430684741)
2.9km SSW 203° Watching Place Waymarker* Marker Stone (SX7130484288)
2.9km ENE 57° Butterdon Down Cairns* Barrow Cemetery (SX75028843)
3.0km SSW 202° Beetor Cross* Ancient Cross (SX7129584187)
3.0km NNE 33° Charles Cross* Ancient Cross (SX742894)
3.1km ESE 105° Moretonhampstead Cross* Ancient Cross (SX7550886039)
3.4km SSE 152° North Bovey* Ancient Cross (SX7399083879)
3.9km NE 35° Prestonbury Castle* Hillfort (SX7477490045)
4.0km ESE 110° One Mill Bridge Cross* Ancient Cross (SX76268544)
4.2km SSW 211° Leeper Cross* Ancient Cross (SX7022083325)
4.2km E 84° Mardon Down Ring Cairn* Ring Cairn (SX7672987264)
4.3km E 85° Mardon Down Cairn 1* Cairn (SX76768716)
4.3km E 85° Mardon Down S* Stone Circle (SX76768719)
4.3km E 81° The Giant's Grave Mardon Down* Cairn (SX76768746)
4.3km E 82° Mardon Down Cairn 3* Cairn (SX7677487432)
4.3km ENE 78° Mardon Down N* Stone Circle (SX76758768)
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