Perhistoric Bronze Age Standing Stone Relic at Merrivale, Dartmoor National Park Devon. XPL 4319-407
The majority of the prehistoric remains on Dartmoor date back to the late Neolithic and early Bronze Age. Indeed, Dartmoor contains the largest concentration of Bronze Age remains in the United Kingdom, which suggests that this was when a larger population moved onto the hills of Dartmoor. The climate at the time was warmer than today, and much of today's moorland was covered with trees. The prehistoric settlers began clearing the forest, and established the first farming communities. The nature of the soil, which is highly acidic, means that no organic remains have survived. However, by contrast, the high durability of the natural granite means that their homes and monuments are still to be found in abundance, as are their flint tools. It should be noted that a number of remains were "restored" by enthusiastic Victorians and that, in some cases, they have placed their own interpretation on how an area may have looked. Beardown Man, DartmoorNumerous menhirs (more usually referred to locally as standing stones or longstones), stone circles, kistvaens, cairns and stone rows are to be found on the moor. The most significant sites include: Beardown Man, near Devil’s Tor — isolated standing stone ( m high, said to have another 1 m below ground). grid reference SX596796 Challacombe, near the prehistoric settlement of Grimspound — triple stone row. grid reference SX689807 Drizzlecombe, east of Sheepstor village — stone circles, rows, standing stones, kistvaens and cairns. grid reference SX591669 Grey Wethers, near Postbridge — double circle, aligned almost exactly north south. grid reference SX638831 Laughter Tor, near Two Bridges — standing stone ( m high) and two double stone rows (one 164 m long). grid reference SX652753 Merrivale, between Princetown and Tavistock — includes a double stone row (182 m long, m wide, aligned almost exactly east-west), stone circles and a kistvaen. grid reference SX554747 Scorhill, west of Chagford — circle ( m in circu
Size: 3573px × 5380px
Location: Merrivale, Tavistock, Dartmoor, Devon. England. United Kingdom
Photo credit: © David Gowans / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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