Whitehorse Hill

An internationally important prehistoric burial

The Whitehorse Hill cist was discovered in the 1990s eroding from the side of a mound of peat at an elevation of around 600m. A cist is a stone-built ‘box’ inserted into the ground into which the dead were placed in prehistoric times – a precursor to the coffins of today.

Initially, attempts were made to preserve the cist in situ, but it eventually became apparent that erosion was too severe and it would eventually be destroyed.

In 2011, an excavation was undertaken in order to understand the cist before the erosion took its toll. As the grave had been at least partially exposed to the elements for over a decade expectations were not high.

Rarely in archaeology has an assessment been more wrong!

The first indication that the excavation had encountered anything unusual was the identification of a bead suggesting that some of the burials grave goods had survived. Such survival alone has been unusual for Dartmoor’s cists, many of which were investigated before the development of modern archaeological techniques. However, as excavation proceeded it quickly became clear that the Whitehorse Hill cist was more than simply unusual; it was incredibly significant.

The grave contained the cremated remains of a young adult, probably a female, which had been placed in the cist in the Early Bonze Age between 1730BC and 1600BC.

The remains had been wrapped in an animal pelt, analysis of which revealed had been from a brown bear, and fastened with a copper alloy pin. A variety of other grave goods had accompanied the deceased into the afterlife: more than 200 beads of fired clay, shale, amber and tin, which had probably originally formed a necklace; wooden studs which may have been worn as labrettes in the ears and/or lips (similar to ear stretchers worn by some people today); fragments of textile and leather; a flint tool; a bracelet of woven cow hair and tin studs and a basket.

How had the contents survived for so long?

The peat in which the cist was constructed has exceptional preservative qualities; the waterlogging and lack of oxygen inhibit the action of the bacteria which cause decay and so artefacts which would have long since rotted away in most other environments survived.

What have the finds told us?

The finds have offered numerous valuable insights into Early Bronze Age life on Dartmoor that we may not have been gained from most other sites.

The beads of the necklace showed us that, far from being isolated, the local population had contacts with a wider world and were able to acquire materials from as far away as the Baltic in the form of amber.

The textiles, leather and basketry told us about the range of organic resources that were being exploited and the consummate skill with which objects were crafted.

The wooden labrettes hinted at how people in prehistory used their appearance to express themselves and their identities, while the bear pelt may have spoke to the wider environment of the Early Bronze Age and how it was a very different landscape to that of today.

In summary, the Whitehorse Hill cist was - and still is - a find of international importance. It changed what we know about prehistoric people. Just as importantly perhaps, it give us a tantalising glimpse of what else may still be awaiting discovery on Dartmoor...

The Whitehorse Hill finds form part of the archaeology collections at The Box, Plymouth.

Visit the National Park Visitor Centre at Postbridge to see an exhibition containing replicas of the Whitehorse Hill finds.