MEM25580 - Prehistoric standing stone on Ilkerton Ridge (Monument)

A small standing stone, measuring 40cm in height, and accompanying "trigger" stone, aligned westnorthwest to eastsoutheast following the line of Ilkerton Ridge and adjacent to the modern trackway. It is one of a number of Bronze Age monuments on Ilkerton Ridge, clearly a significant prehistoric landscape.

A standing stone is located at SS 71695 45348 north west of Hill Cottage. It is composed of two stones, a larger standing stone and a smaller trigger stone positioned on the northern side of the larger stone. The stone is broadly rectangular in shape with an angled or "chisel" top. The northern face is flattened, while the southern face is domed, giving the stone a shallow D-shaped appearance in profile. It is formed of local sedimentary rock, probably a sand or mudstone, in a mid to light grey tone. The stone is lighter on its upper surface and appears weathered on the northern face. It is 41cm high, 36cm long and 8cm thick at its widest point. The trigger stone is smaller but also domed, with a marked triangular appearance when viewed from above. As with its larger companion, the northern face is flattened while the extension occurs on the southern side, facing the larger stone. It is formed of thes same local stone, with more obvious striations present in the rock. It is 14cm in height, 28cm long and is 9cm wide at its base, tapering to 4cm wide at its crest. This stone was recorded in 2024, after it was initially identified by a member of the public. It does not appear in previous assessments of Exmoor standing stones, neither early antiquarian surveys [1], nor condition surveys in the modern period [2, 3, 4]. The area of Ilkerton Ridge was surveyed in 2022, in the wake of a wildfire, but this stone was not included within the newly identified standing stones from that event [5].