Nine Stones ring cairn on Belstone Common

A small prehistoric ring cairn stands on Belstone Common, just under a kilometre south-west of Belstone village near Okehampton in Devon. The site is often called Seventeen Brothers, though its proper name is Nine Stones. It sits close to Belstone Tor, a granite outcrop that rises from the moor. The ring is not a stone circle but the remains of a round burial mound. Archaeologists count gaps where about forty edge stones once stood, none taller than ninety centimetres. The cairn shows signs of an inner chamber, evidence of a once intact burial cairn and stone casket. Lynch’s 1979 study of ring cairns in Britain and Ireland describes how such enclosures were organised. Sykes’s 1993 book on British folklore records local traditions attached to the site. The scattered stones and hollow interior hint at centuries of weathering and partial destruction. Visitors find a low, grass-covered bank of earth and stones forming a rough circle about ten metres wide. A few upright slabs mark where the chamber once stood. The surrounding moor stretches away to Belstone Tor, offering wide views across Dartmoor. The quiet setting contrasts with the site’s ancient purpose. No modern markers intrude on the open landscape.