Ator cairn is a prehistoric cult site occurring in theBritish Isles, especially inCornwall andDevon but also inWales. It consists of a circular enclosure of stones or a platform of loose rocks surrounding a naturaltor, sometimes encircled by a ditch. The diameter of the roughly 35 torcairns ranges from 12 to over 30 metres and their height varies from 0.5 to 4.0 metres. There is usually an entrance to the enclosed area and pits in the ground between the rock outcrop (tor) itself and the enclosure.[1]
Finds offlint tools, pottery, gravel, quartz andbronze weapons and jewellery have enabled the sites to be dated to the early 2nd millennium B.C., i.e. the earlyBronze Age.[1]
Examples are the tor cairns of:Alex Tor,Catshole Tor, Corndon Tor,Cox Tor,[2] Hameldown Tor, Limsboro Cairn, White Tor (Peter Tavy),Rough Tor,Tolborough Tor, Top Tor,Tregarrick Tor andYes Tor.