Rows of stones in Dartmoor
The more than 70 rows of stones in Dartmoor in Dartmoor in Devon in Great Britain are often associated with menhirs , hut foundations , stone circles , stone boxes , cairns and other prehistoric relics. They emerged over a long period of time and are difficult to date, some may even date from the end of the Neolithic . At Hook Lake (near Buckfastleigh ) there is a fence from the Bronze Age , which is attached to a row of stones so that its earlier construction becomes clear.
description
The rows vary from single, double, triple ( The Graveyard ) and quadruple. They extend over lengths of a few meters over 500 m ( row of stones from Stalldon up to 3.3 km row of stones from Upper Erme ). Most are between 40 and 200 m in length, taking into account that stones have been removed ( ring moor ), so that there tend to be greater lengths. The socialization of many with stone mounds, stone circles ( Down Tor , Drizzlecombe ) or stone boxes can be done independently and at a later date.
Excavations were carried out on different rows; only the row of stones at Cholwichtown was examined along its entire length and in its vicinity. However, nothing was discovered that could add to the dating. The menhirs had been removed from 38 still detectable bases . A pollen analysis showed that the row used to stand in an oak wood, around which grain had been cultivated. A phosphate test on the Holne Moor row of stones revealed the vague possibility that a burial was being performed there.
In 1979 Tim Emmett presented a paper comparing every aspect of 61 of the rows of stones in Dartmoor. Regarding the alignment of the ranks, he noted that environmental evidence and irregularities in the ranks suggested that their use for targeting celestial phenomena was impractical. An additional problem is the variety of bearing targets available, such as menhirs of indeterminable ages and encircling horizons full of natural notches. The possibility of changing the skyline over three millennia can also rarely be taken into account. The fact that the Cholwichtown row of stones stood in an oak clearing means that any object visible in the landscape today was not necessarily visible when the row of stones was built. Most of the stone rows in Dartmoor ran in a northeast-southwest direction.
The simple rows of stones were built in a wide range of locations. The double rows of stones are more common on slopes. There are no rows of stones on flat peaks or valley floors. The latter could be caused by the fact that they are buried under peat. The rows are almost without exception in an area between 200 and 500 m above sea level.
- Rows of stones in Dartmoor
Assycombe Hill
Black Tor
Challacombe Down
Lakehead Hill with stone chest
Dating
The row of stones discovered in 2004 on Cut Hill in northern Dartmoor is the first to be dated. The peat under stone 1 was calibrated to 3700-3540 BC using the radiocarbon method. The peat above it is calibrated to 2476–2245 BC. Chr.
literature
- DD Emmett: Stone rows: the traditional view reconsidered. In: Valerie A. Maxfield (Ed.): Prehistoric Dartmoor in its Context (= Devon Archaeological Society. Proceedings. No. 37, ISSN 0305-5795 ). Devon Archaeological Society, Exeter 1979, pp. 94-114.
- George Eogan, Ian G. Simmons: The Excavation of a Stone Alignment and Circle at Cholwichtown, Lee Moor, Devonshire, England. In: Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society. Vol. 30, 1964, ISSN 0079-497X , pp. 25-38, doi : 10.1017 / S0079497X00015036 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Ralph M. Fyfe, Tom Greeves: The Date and Context of a Stone Row: Cut Hill, Dartmoor, South-West England. In: Antiquity. Vol. 84, No. 323, 2010, ISSN 0003-598X , pp. 55-70, doi : 10.1017 / S0003598X00099762 .