Editing Dartmoor (section)

==History==

===Pre-history===
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 large systems of Bronze Age fields, divided by [[reave]]s, cover an area of over {{convert|10000|ha|mi2}} of the lower moors.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.dartmoor-npa.gov.uk/index/lookingafter/laf-culturalheritage/laf-archaeology/laf-prehistoricdartmoor.htm
|title=Prehistoric Dartmoor
|publisher=Dartmoor National Park Authority
|access-date=2 September 2009
|url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091201085932/http://www.dartmoor-npa.gov.uk/index/lookingafter/laf-culturalheritage/laf-archaeology/laf-prehistoricdartmoor.htm
|archive-date=1 December 2009}}</ref>

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. Fire was the main method of clearing land, creating [[pasture]] and [[swidden]] types of fire-fallow farmland. Areas less suited for farming tended to be burned for livestock grazing. Over the centuries these Neolithic practices greatly expanded the upland moors, and contributed to the acidification of the soil and the accumulation of [[peat]] and [[bog]]s.<ref>Role of anthropogenic fire and in creating moors, and moor-burning in sustaining them, described in Pyne, Stephen J. (1997) ''Vestal Fire: an Environmental History, Told through Fire, of Europe and Europe's Encounter with the World''. University of Washington Press, Seattle, pp. 348–369. {{ISBN|0-295-97596-2}}</ref>

After a few thousand years, the mild climate deteriorated. This left these areas uninhabited, and, consequently, relatively undisturbed to the present day. The highly acidic soil has ensured that no organic remains have survived, but the durability of the granite has meant that the remains of buildings, enclosures and monuments have survived well, as have flint tools. A number of remains were "restored" by enthusiastic [[Victorian era|Victorians]] and, in some cases, they have placed their own interpretation on how an area may have looked.

===Standing stones===
[[File:Beardown man dartmoor.jpg|thumb|upright|Beardown Man, Dartmoor]]

Numerous prehistoric [[menhir]]s (more usually referred to locally as [[standing stone]]s or longstones), [[stone circle]]s, [[Dartmoor kistvaens|kistvaen]]s, [[cairn]]s and [[stone row]]s are to be found on the moor. The most significant sites include:
* Upper Erme stone row is the longest on Dartmoor and in fact in the world at {{convert|3300|m|ft|abbr=on}}
* Beardown Man, near Devil's Tor – isolated standing stone {{convert|3.5|m|ftin|abbr=on}} high, said to have another {{convert|1|m|ftin|abbr=on}} below ground. {{gbmapping|SX596796}}
* Challacombe, near the prehistoric settlement of [[Grimspound]] — triple stone row. {{gbmapping|SX689807}}
* [[Drizzlecombe]], east of [[Sheepstor]] village – stone rows, standing stones, kistvaens and cairns. {{gbmapping|SX591669}}
* [[Grey Wethers]], near [[Postbridge, Devon|Postbridge]] — double circle, aligned almost exactly north south. {{gbmapping|SX638831}}
* Laughter Tor, near [[Two Bridges, Devon|Two Bridges]] — standing stone {{convert|2.4|m|ftin|abbr=on}} high and two double stone rows, one {{convert|164|m|ft|abbr=on}} long. {{gbmapping|SX652753}}
* [[Merrivale, Devon|Merrivale]], between [[Princetown]] and [[Tavistock, Devon|Tavistock]] — includes a double stone row {{convert|182|m|ft|abbr=on}} long, {{convert|1.1|m|ftin|abbr=on}} wide, aligned almost exactly east–west, stone circles and a kistvaen. {{gbmapping|SX554747}}
* [[Scorhill]] (pronounced 'Scorill'), west of [[Chagford]] — circle, {{convert|26.8|m|ft|abbr=on}} in circumference, and stone rows. {{gbmapping|SX654873}}
* [[Shovel Down]], north of [[Dartmoor reservoirs|Fernworthy reservoir]] — double stone row approximately {{convert|120|m|ft|abbr=on}} long. {{gbmapping|SX660859}}
* [[Yellowmead Down]], a quadruple concentric stone circle and stone rows.

===Hut circles and kistvaens===
There are also an estimated 5,000 [[hut circle]]s still surviving although many have been raided over the centuries by the builders of the traditional dry stone walls. These are the remnants of [[Bronze Age]] houses. The smallest are around {{convert|1.8|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} in diameter, and the largest may be up to five times this size.

Some have L-shaped porches to protect against wind and rain; some particularly good examples are to be found at [[Grimspound]]. It is believed that they would have had a conical roof, supported by timbers and covered in turf or thatch.

There are also numerous [[Dartmoor kistvaens|kistvaens]], Neolithic stone box-like tombs.

===The historical period===
[[File:Crazywell cross 1.JPG|thumb|Ancient [[stone cross]] close to [[Crazywell Pool]]]]

The climate became wetter and cooler over the course of a thousand years from around 1000&nbsp;BC, resulting in much of high Dartmoor being largely abandoned by its early inhabitants. The earliest surviving farms, still in operation today, are known as the [[Ancient Tenements]]. Most of these date back to the 14th century, and some even earlier.

It was not until the [[early Mediaeval]] period that the weather again became warmer, and settlers moved back onto the moors. Like their ancient predecessors, they used the natural granite to build their homes, preferring a style known as the [[Dartmoor longhouse|longhouse]]; some of theses are still inhabited today, although they have been clearly adapted{{clarify|date=December 2023}} over the centuries. Many are now used as farm buildings, while others have been abandoned and fallen into ruin.

Some way into the moor stands the town of [[Princetown, England|Princetown]], the site of [[Dartmoor (HM Prison)|Dartmoor Prison]], which was originally built by Isbell Rowe & Company, Plymouth, for [[Prisoner of war|prisoners of war]] from the [[Napoleonic Wars]] and the [[War of 1812]]. The prison has a reputation for being escape-proof, due to both the buildings themselves and its physical location.

The Dartmoor landscape is scattered with the marks left by the many generations who have lived and worked there over the centuries – such as the remains of the [[Dartmoor tin-mining]] industry, and farmhouses long since abandoned. See [[Industrial archaeology of Dartmoor]].