Can you help solve the mystery of an enigmatic stone row?
Dartmoor National Park is asking for help in solving the mystery of a double stone row on South Dartmoor.
Archaeologist Andy Crabb is hoping that people can help him with his investigations into Piles Hill double stone row, and whether the stones once stood upright. He’s particularly keen to see any old photos, pictures, or sketches.
Contact Andy on archaeology@dartmoor.gov.uk
This exciting project is a partnership between Dartmoor National Park Authority, Historic England and the National Lottery Heritage Fund funded ‘Our Upland Commons’ which aims to increase understanding of upland commons across Dartmoor and other areas.
Piles Hill double stone row stands on the ridge of Harford and Ugborough commons. The alignment curves gently from east-west for around 850 metres and contains more than 40 visible stones, all of which are fallen or leaning, with further examples hidden in vegetation.
The railway which once served the China Clay works at Redlake Mine – now a popular footpath and part of the Two Moors Way - breaks the line of the row and several cairns can be found close by.
“The monument at Piles Hill is fascinating for lots of reasons, not only because it has managed to survive in a once highly industrial landscape but because there’s still so much more to discover,” said Andy.
The rows are believed to date to the Neolithic - Early Bronze. Dating recumbent alignments like this can be tricky but radiocarbon dating on peat above and below the stones can offer clues.
Radiocarbon dating on a recumbent stone row at Cut Hill dated the alignment to 3,620BC –before the construction of Stonehenge or the pyramids of Giza and demonstrating Dartmoor’s international significance as a landscape rich in cultural heritage.
Last year, a geophysical survey at Piles Hill revealed 70 potential buried stones, 158 potential socket holes, and evidence of a cairn at the western end. Additionally, buried stones and other features were identified along the entire row and beyond the western end.
Unexpected discoveries include a possible long stony bank running past the cairns and stone row, and possible earlier stone alignments running across the existing stone row.
Andy is planning more archaeological investigations later this summer to build on the evidence and knowledge gathered so far.
He added: “It could be that what we see today is the last version of the monument; it might have been that, in antiquity, the stones were taken down and re-erected several times or they were moved to its current east-west orientation. It might also be the case that some of the stones were always flat and never stood at all. There’s so much to find out and that’s what makes this such a fascinating monument.”
Tamsin Thomas, Our Upland Commons Project Officer for Dartmoor, said: “Centuries of land management by farmers, landowners and commoners has ensured the survival of many of Dartmoor’s ancient monuments; places which still have the power to fascinate us today. We’re excited to work with Harford and Ugborough landowners, and Dartmoor National Park, to see if we can solve the mystery of Piles Hill double stone row.”
