Merrivale
The megalithic complex of Merrivale (also Merivale) is located in West Devon , in Dartmoor National Park near the B3357 at Tavistock in Cornwall .
The complex consists of three stone circles , three rows of stones , a large stone box , some menhirs , a large enclosure with a dolmen and about 20 foundations of round huts , called the Plague Market (plague market). This place was named after the bubonic plague of 1625 because the farmers were selling groceries here to the residents of Tavistock.
About 100 m south of this is a double row of stones oriented west-east - further west on the other side of the river another one in the same geographical orientation. The northern stone circle is almost in the center of this row of stones. It is about 3.5 m in diameter and consists of seven stones. The double row is about 180 m long and ends in the east with a 1.2 m high stone. The other row ends in the east with a large triangular stone and in the west with the last pair of stones. To the south of it lies a stone box with a large capstone; the missing middle part was cut out to make a goal post.
From here, large flat granite slabs lead to a 1.8 m high menhir in the southwest and the southern stone circle. It has a diameter of 20 m and consists of 11 stones no more than 0.6 m high. There are more menhirs on the circle. One is 3.2 m, the other 2.1 m high. The third circle consists of 9 stones that are barely recognizable in the grassland. A kind of chamber grave ( English chambered tomb ) called the 'Apple Crusher ", is located in an enclosure near the hut circles. It has not yet been explored and takes its name from the locally used apple mills for the well-known Dartmoor apples.
See also
literature
- Paul White: Ancient Dartmoor. An Introduction. Bossiney Books, Launceston 2000, ISBN 1-899383-22-0 .
Web links
Coordinates: 50 ° 33 ′ 13.5 ″ N , 4 ° 2 ′ 20.6 ″ W.