Mortar stone at Riddipit

Burnard described the photograph as "cavities in roadway at Riddipit". The remains at Riddipit (Crossing calls it 'Riddy Pit') are evidence of the tin mining industry which operated on Dartmoor until around 1939. The stone with the cavities is a mortar stone. They were used for crushing the tin ore in a stamping mill. The cavities were created by the continual hammer of the stamping pole driven up and down by a waterwheel. It is probable that the mortar stone was subsequently used to reinforce a nearby road surface after the stone became too pitted for use in the mill.