Kistvaen and Ingra Tor

Taken on 3rd August 1942 looking west of a tumulus and kistvaen with Ingra tor in the background. A tumulus is a heap of earth or stones placed over a grave. The terms mound, barrow, or cairn are more common in modern usage. A kistvaen is a stone coffin, usually pre-Christian, derived from the Celtic cist (chest) and maen(stone). Many fine examples of kistvaens are found on Dartmoor. They often take the form of small rectangular pits about 3 ft. (0.9 m) long by 2 feet (0.6 m) wide. The kistvaens were usually covered with a mound of earth and surrounded by a circle of small stones. When a body was placed in the kistvaen, it was usually lain in a contracted position. Sometimes however the body was cremated with the ashes placed in a cinerary urn. Ingra Tor (339 metres) has also been recorded as Inga Tor, Inner Tor, Ingater Tor and Chip Tor.