70 sites for 70 years
70 Sites for 70 years of Exmoor National Park
Welcome to a new series of blogs as part of the celebrations marking the 70th anniversary of Exmoor National Park. The Exmoor Historic Environment Record keeps track of the 10,000 plus archaeological sites and historic buildings to be found within the National Park boundary, recording their history, current condition and staying up to date with new discoveries. As the HER’s contribution to the anniversary festivities, we wanted to highlight 70 of Exmoor’s special sites- some of which are very famous, while others are little known. They’re all fascinating, however, and all help to tell the story of Exmoor.
Where to start telling this story through sites? Well, perhaps it’s best to start at the very beginning with some of the oldest archaeology on Exmoor. The Mesolithic, usually dated to c.9600 to 4000 BCE, is a period of fairly ephemeral remains, reflecting hunter gatherers moving around a landscape still adjusting after the last glacial period. Sea level change meant that much of the modern Bristol channel was a wide lowland plain, but small groups of people were making their homes on Exmoor.
Hawkcombe Head is a rare of example of a site with evidence for Mesolithic structures: excavations in the early 2000s revealed a posthole, hearth and clay surface surrounded by further postholes. Radiocarbon dates from the hearth suggested that it was in use around 6300BCE. As flint is not found naturally on Exmoor, its presence anywhere suggests human interference… and the site at Hawkcombe Head produced large assemblage of flint tools, in addition to the debris from their creation. This seems to have been a key place for Mesolithic people to set up camp, making use of the nearby spring for water and the great visibility to scout game out across the flatlands to the north, which are now underwater. Resting, cooking and eating, replacing and repairing toolkits- Hawkcombe gives a glimpse of day to day life in Mesolithic Exmoor.
Another place that Mesolithic people frequented on the moor is to be found at Larkbarrow Farm, where excavations found a flint assemblage very similar to that at Hawkcombe Head. Maybe we can start to build up a picture of the first inhabitants of Exmoor moving seasonally through the landscape, leaving the flint tools they’d acquired from outside the area behind them. Larkbarrow is the focus of one of the park’s Exmoor Moorland Archaeology Walks series- you can follow the suggested walk to explore and reimagine Exmoor as it would have been, thousands of years ago.
Disclaimer: Do remember that sites on the HER may be on private land, and you should remain on public footpaths and accessways and not try to reach sites away from these routes without permission from the landowner.
No. 2 - Solstice and Stone Circles
It’s midsummer. The solstice has just passed, the sun is high in the sky, and at last a bit of warmth and sunshine seems set for Exmoor- at least for the coming week or so! This time of year always makes me think of Stonehenge- the great sarsens viewed from the A303, the way their shadows stand on the horizon when you pass at night, the passage down the Avenue towards the circle.
But did you know that Exmoor has its own stone circles? There are two stone circles to be found inside the National Park boundary, and while they might not be as imposing as the massive examples at Avebury, or as dramatic as the Ring of Brodgar, they are nonetheless a fascinating Exmoor version of this type of monument. One is to be found on the south west slopes of Withypool Hill, while another is atop Porlock Allotment. Both have been damaged over the centuries, with the Withypool circle once said to contain 100 stones, but now reduced to 37, while the Porlock circle now numbers only 7 stones.
The stones themselves are also fairly diminutive - small but perfectly formed! This is a pattern seen across Neolithic features on Exmoor, giving rise to the phrase “Exmoor minilithic.” The largest stones at Withypool being 50cm in height, and at Porlock slightly larger, at 80cm. This small size may have protected the stones somewhat from being used by animals for rubbing. The small size of the stones themselves is also potentially of great interest- could the phenomenon of these diminutive circles on Exmoor be linked to a broader phenomenon of “miniaturization” seen in the late Neolithic and early Bronze Age?
In addition to the two main circles, there is also an intriguing third stone circle listed on the Exmoor Historic Environment Record… however, it’s a case of mistaken identity. Oral history recorded a stone circle made up of nine stones on the crest of Cheriton Ridge… but there is no evidence of a circle present here. The hillside falling away from the supposed site is littered with boulders and loose stones- but they seem natural. Who knows whether peat diggings on the crest disturbed something, which was captured in folk memory after its destruction? Or maybe this enigmatic type of monument inspired someone to imagine a circle, just as the surviving 27 stones at Withypool inspired legends of a hundred stones placed on the moor?
Finally, there is a strange site, initially described as a series of three stone circles, on Almsworthy Common. In 1931 the site was described as being composed of three concentric “ellipses” of stones… however this would make the Almsworthy stones utterly unique in Britain. Archaeologists returned to the site and reassessed the stones, deciding they were more likely to form a series of stone rows- a different but related monument type… of which more in a future post.
These are some of the most charismatic sites on Exmoor, and their small size makes them even more intriguing. They also illustrate the difficulty of distinguishing the shape and even existence of these monuments in the Exmoor landscape. Perhaps with future research we will be able to learn more about them, but in the meantime, they make for a fascinating visit.
Sites mentioned in this blog: MSO8682 - Withypool Stone Circle, Withypool Hill - The Historic Environment Record for Exmoor National Park (exmoorher.co.uk) MSO7898 - Porlock Stone Circle - The Historic Environment Record for Exmoor National Park (exmoorher.co.uk) MDE9883 - Disputed stone circle on Cheriton Ridge - The Historic Environment Record for Exmoor National Park (exmoorher.co.uk) MSO6727 - Prehistoric stone setting on Almsworthy Common - The Historic Environment Record for Exmoor National Park (exmoorher.co.uk)
Reference/ further reading:
Mitcham, D. 2019. Exmoor’s minilithic enigma: Exploring the impact of miniaturisation on human engagement with stone in Later Neolithic and Bronze Age Britain. In Worlds in Miniature: Contemplating Miniaturisation in Global Material Culture. London: UCL Press. Available online at: 2 Exmoor’s minilithic enigma: Exploring the impact of miniaturisation on human engagement with stone in Later Neolithic and Bronze Age Britain Exploring the impact of miniaturisation on human engagement with stone in Later Neolithic and Bronze Age Britain from Worlds in Miniature: Contemplating Miniaturisation in Global Material Culture on JSTOR