Merrivale Prehistoric Site

The prehistoric site of Merrivale on Dartmoor in southern England is less well-known than Stonehenge or Carnac, but it has no less to offer: Visitors can marvel at stone circles and stone rows, several menhirs, a burial chamber, a large number of foundations of ancient huts and a kilometer-long embankment.

Double Stone Rows

Of particular interest for our comparison with Carnac are the two double stone rows that can be seen in Merrivale. These stone rows run in an east-west direction on the flank of an elongated hill. A creek flows between the two double rows of stones, its course and its stone edging indicate that it was man-made. The northern double stone row is 180 m long and rises barely knee-high out of the grassy landscape, with the stones standing about one meter apart. The double stone row located approximately 30 meters to the south runs parallel to it, but with a total length of 260 m it protrudes beyond the northern double row on both sides. In addition, the stones in the southern double stone row tend to be larger, in particular some stones clearly tower over their neighbors. Compared to the stone rows at Carnac in France, however, the stones in Merrivale are rather small, although there are natural granite deposits in the area from which significantly larger stones could easily have been extracted. Both double rows are bordered at their eastern end by a massive keystone, which in the case of the northern double stone row is framed by stones arranged in a circle, as can also be seen at the ends of some stone rows in Carnac. In the west, the northern double stone row ends without a special endpiece, while at the western end of the southern double stone row there are two massive keystones. Another striking feature is a circular cluster of stones measuring 3-4 m in diameter, which is located approximately in the middle of the southern double stone row.

There are about 70 other stone rows on Dartmoor, most of which are single or double rows. The exact dating is difficult, only the stone row at Cut Hill in northern Dartmoor could be dated to 3,700-3,540 BC using the radiocarbon method on the basis of the peat under one of the stones. So far, the original purpose of these stone rows is unknown. We would like to propose the interpretation that these were war memorials - similar to the stone rows at Carnac. A Stone Age tribe may have used them to commemorate a battle fought on the hills of Dartmoor or a military campaign that set out from here. The varying sizes of the stones could indicate differences in the equipment of the warriors or their military rank. The fact that the stones were of smaller size than the stones found at Carnac possibly indicates that the campaign was not successful. As there are similar rows made of several dozen to several hundred stones in various places on Dartmoor, they might be memorials to fighters who died in the distance - similar to the memorials of the soldiers who died in the world wars that can be found in many German villages. This analogy gives rise to a daring thought: Had a force set out from the villages of Dartmoor for Brittany, where it was crushed by the combined forces of Breton tribes? Did the winners erect a giant monument after the event at Carnac, while the fallen fighters of the unsuccessful invader were commemorated with symbolic graves on Dartmoor? So is there a close connection between the sites at Carnac and Dartmoor?

Stone Cist

Approximately in the middle of the double stone rows, a few steps away from the southern double row, there is an elongated chamber in the ground that is aligned perpendicular to the course of the stone rows. The chamber is formed by upright stones and covered by a capstone at each end of the chamber. The missing central capstone lies broken in the chamber. According to Wikipedia, a local farmer once broke the capstone to make a gatepost out of it. The cist is said to have contained a flint scraper, a number of flint flakes and a whetstone for polishing items.

The construction suggests a Stone Age burial chamber. Tribal leaders and other important individuals were buried in such burial chambers. If the chamber was built at the same time as the stone rows, it could be the grave of the chief who went into battle here with his warriors.

Stone Circles and Menhire

About 200 m away from the rows, there is a stone circle 18 m in diameter formed from 11 granite stones. A few steps south of this stands a large menhir, which dominates the scenery. There are some small granite stones around this menhir, but they do not form a clearly recognizable formation. Few more menhirs are clearly visible several hundred meters away. If you let your gaze wander to the horizon, striking granite formations on the surrounding hills catch your eye.

The large menhir and the stone circle to the north of it give the impression that they belong together. As the stones forming the stone circle are very unevenly spaced, it can be assumed that the stone circle originally contained more stones. Similarly, some of the original stones around the large menhir seem to be missing. Nevertheless, it seems safe to assume that the stones were arranged according to astronomical aspects and probably had the function of a calendar. Similar stone circles are well known from many places in northern Europe and were probably used by our Stone Age ancestors to determine the right time to sow grain and other crops. However, the stone circles not only served a practical purpose, but were probably also places of ritual acts where people gathered at certain times. The basic alignment of the stone observatories was typically based on the summer and winter solstices, while the additional stones usually present suggest that they were aligned with other landmarks. The various smaller menhirs and the granite formations on the surrounding hills of Merrivale, which are clearly visible from the central menhir, would have been well suited as bearings for an astronomical calendar. However, the positional relationships of the menhir to those objects in the Merrivale landscape have not been investigated in detail to date.

Wall

A short distance southwest of the large menhir, a straight wall of stones and earth runs across the landscape from northwest to southeast. This rampart is called the Great Western Reave. Roughly 10 km long, it is the longest rampart on Dartmoor, of which there are about 20. Archaeologists assume that the ramparts were field boundaries or barriers against water ingress. The ramparts are thought to have been built in the Bronze Age (approx. 2,200 to 800 BC).

It is striking that the Great Western Reave does not follow the course of the hills, but was laid out in a straight line through the hilly landscape. A function as a boundary between fields or as a barrier against water ingress therefore seems rather implausible. Is it perhaps a military fortification instead, to make it easier to fend off enemies?

Roundhouses

Numerous round or oval piles of stones can also be found in the surrounding area. Archaeologists have identified the remains of more than 50 houses of various sizes. The foundations measure up to 8 meters. These roundhouses were probably once thatched and had outer walls made of clay. The people who lived here probably mainly kept sheep and cattle.

The roundhouses are dated by archaeologists to the Bronze Age. The settlement would therefore have been built much later than the other stone formations. It is not possible to say why the settlers chose this site in the immediate vicinity of the Stone Age monuments, which are at least 1,500 years older. May be they were still aware of the significance of the older sites and deliberately settled at this historic location.

According to the English Heritage Trust, historians believe that the settlement of Merrivale was abandoned towards the end of the Bronze Age. Around 700 BC, people left the area because farming and animal husbandry were no longer profitable. The fragile soil had been so degraded by deforestation and land use that it became infertile. This resulted in the inhospitable moorland landscape that we find on Dartmoor today.