Exmoor, as we know it to-day, populated by man came about after the retreat of the last of the great Ice Ages that covered the Earth.
There are many barrows, stone circles and other antiquities on Exmoor that are worth a visit.
Exmoor has been populated since the Iron
Age and has 162 Scheduled Monuments and 1011 Buildings of Special Architectural
or Historic Interest (Listed Buildings).
Exmoor has many ancient features for you to explore. There
are Prehistoric Barrows, Standing
Stones and Stone Circles, an Ancient
'Clapper' Bridge at Tarr Steps, Medieval
Villages, Castles, Mines and Packhorse
Bridges.
Inhabitation of Exmoor dates back to Mesolithic times when
people living on the moor used to exploit the area for their own purposes.
For instance, the moorland was ideal for grazing animals, hunting and
fishing. Remnants from this time can still be found on Exmoor in the
form of standing stones,
flint arrowheads and derelict buildings.
By walking across Exmoor's landscape you can see how people
used to live there in the past by exploring the numerous undisturbed
archaelogical sites and monuments.
Caractus stone, Winsford Hill
The first evidence of human settlement is almost entirely
confined to the areas around Exmoor, rather than on the moor itself.
The earliest signs of occupation is the Earth Ring at Parracombe which
is believed to be a Neolithic Henge dated 5000-4000BCE.
The ready availability of Copper and Tin on Exmoor attracted a large
population to the area in the Bronze Age. It is likely that the Moor
was not settled until around 1800-1500 BC. From this period are Stone
Circles at Porlock Hill, Almsworthy Common and Withypool Hill.
There are many Barrows on
Exmoor mostly from the Bronze Age and containing burial chambers dating
back some 3,500 years. There is also evidence of the ruins of Bronze
Age houses.
The excavating activities of Grave robbers looking for
treasure have caused many of these Barrows to fall in. A local Lord was
licensed by Edward II to excavate six Barrows thought to be the Chapman
Barrows in the hunt for plunder.
Standing Stones and Barrows are
often to be found at the top of hills at the sources of springs. It is
thought that they were the sites of religious ceremonies to worship deities
and spirits of water and sun.
Longstone at Challacombe marks
is at the source of the River Bray and is situated on an Ancient Ridgeway
passing through Chapman
Barrows, the Longstone and Longstone Barrow to
Woodbarrow.
There is little evidence of occupation during the Roman period (43 - 410 AD), two fortlets at Old Barrow (SS 788 494) and the
Beacon (SS 664 493) being the only remains now visible.
The whole of Exmoor, even the wildest parts, has long been influenced by the activities of men and women.
The Bronze Age inhabitants (between 2000 -750 BC) were fairly numerous, and left many monuments, particularly barrows such as Wood Barrow near Challacombe. Stone does not outcrop much on Exmoor, so the stone monuments, such as menhirs, rows and circles, are fewer and less impressive than those found on Dartmoor or the Cornish moors.
PREHISTORIC ANTIQUITIES - THE MAIN PREHISTORIC PERIODS
Palaeolithic Period
The Old or Early Stone Age dates from the remote past up to about 8000 B.C. During this period man developed the craft of chipping flint implements. From crude work gradual improvement and skill produced well-made axe-heads, scrapers and other tools and weapons.
Neolithic Period
The New or Later Stone Age gradually developed from the Palaeolithic and extended to about 1800 B.C. Still further advance was made in the art of flint-chipping and to this period belong many fine arrow-heads. knives and other implements. Many evidences of Neolithic man remain, such as cromlechs, dolmens, standing stones and long barrows.
Bronze Age
The craft of smelting bronze was introduced into Britain about 1800 B.C. and gave the name to the period of the following 1,500 years. Many of the existing barrows, hut-circles and earthworks are of the Bronze Age.
Iron Age
The use of bronze gradually gave way to the harder metal—iron—and this period extends into the days of recorded history. Fortified earthworks and settlements are among the principal remains of the Iron Age.
GLOSSARY OF PREHISTORIC ANTIQUITIES
Barrow. An artificial mound of earth, or earth and stones, raised over
burials of the Neolithic and Bronze Ages.
Beehive Hut. An early dwelling place, so built that the stones of the
wall overlap and meet in the roof centre.
Cairn. A mound of stones raised, often over a burial place. Capstone. The flat stone surmounting a dolmen.
Cinerary Urn. Urn containing cremated human remains. Sometimes
the urn is inverted over the remains.
Cromlech. A ring or circle of standing stones.
Dolmen. A burial chamber consisting of three or four upright stones covered by another, often of great size, laid fiat across the top and often originally covered by a mound of earth.
Earthworks. The citadels, or forts, of prehistoric days, usually on hilltops or other elevated ground.
Fogue. A Cornish term for an underground chamber or gallery.
Fosse. The ditch surrounding an earthwork.
Holed Stone. A perforated dolmen.
Hut Circle. Circular hollow in the ground, the site of an early habitation. Kist Vaen. A Cornish term for a stone burial chamber, usually smaller than a dolmen.
Long Barrow. A burial mound of the Neolithic period, generally orientated.
Lynchet. A terrace on a hillside, usually in series, formed for the purpose of cultivation.
Menhir. A tall, upright, unhewn stone, sometimes isolated or associated
with smaller stones. May be gravestones or ol religious significance.
Neolithic. Of the New or Later Stone Age.
Palaeolithic. Of the Old or Early Stone Age.
Quoit. A Cornish term for a stone burial chamber, similar to a dolmen.
Round Barrow. A burial chamber of the Bronze Age.
Sarsen Stones. Blocks of sandstone found on the Wiltshire Downs
and south-east England. Sometimes called Grey Wethers.
Stone Circle. A ring of standing stones, usually not enclosing a burial
place.
Trilithon. Two upright stones connected across the top by a flat lintet stone.
Tumulus. An artificial mound of earth, not necessarily sepulchral. Vallum. The bank of an earthwork.
A Dolman
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