The Merrivale Menhir

At the western end of Dartmoor National Park lies one of the world’s finest Bronze Age settlement complexes and ritual sites. Comprising of numerous domestic remains, stone rows and cairns, with a stone circle and standing stone, or Menhir, further to the south.

Standing on the moor in the middle of the night, one could be transported back to that time if it weren’t for the light pollution spilling over from the near by city of Plymouth and the occasional car headlights in the distance.

There’s a sense of peace and reverence that comes from a land so ancient and yet void of habitation for thousands of years, the stars and galaxies above however, have been the lanscape’s constant and witness to it’s many changes.

The stone circle here has previously been described as being “impressive neither in size nor in substance.” (Hemery 1983) but the alignment it’s Bronze Age architects achieved remains impressive to this day. Although not perfectly circular the stones are skewed to face tors (hills) on the horizon with the exception of 2 which are aligned to the Midsummer sunrise and Midwinter sunset.

The Menhir itself is by far the largest of the standing stones on the site at 3 metres, once more those Prehistoric horologists seem to be instrumental in it’s placement, being in perfect alignment with Mid Summer’s Eve sunset when viewed through a notch carved into the furthest east stone in one of the 2 primary stone rows.

Viewed from the western side, the top of the Menhir appears sculptured to follow the contours of Hollow Tor, the attention to detail highlighting the importance of linking this monument to the landscape. Here though the view is towards the south and the impressive King’s Tor.