Pillow mound 790m NNE of Blackaton Cross, forming part of Trowlesworthy Warren

Scheduled area

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History & significance

Pillow mound 790m NNE of Blackaton Cross is an artificial warren feature forming part of Trowlesworthy Warren on Dartmoor in Devon. The monument dates to the medieval period and represents a constructed earthwork designed to provide habitat and shelter for rabbits, which were valued as a food resource and managed commodity within organised warrens. The pillow mound exhibits the characteristic linear mounded form typical of such features, created by heaping soil and stone to establish artificial burrows and breeding grounds. As a component of the larger warren system at Trowlesworthy, it demonstrates the medieval practice of intensive rabbit husbandry on upland commons and illustrates the economic importance of small game management in the medieval and early post-medieval landscape.

Pillow mound 790m NNE of Blackaton Cross, forming part of Trowlesworthy Warren is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1014662. View the official record →

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