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The granite upland dates from the Carboniferous period of geological history, and the landscape is both dramatic, and bleak. The rolling moorland is capped with hundreds of exposed granite hilltops (known as tors), and provides rich and diverse habitats for Dartmoor wildlife. The highest point is High Willhays, 621 m above sea level. The entire area is rich in antiquities.
Dartmoor differs from some other National Parks in England and Wales, in that since a 1985 Act of Parliament much of it has been designated as 'Access Land', with no restrictions on where walkers can roam. There are still footpaths in these areas, but they are for guidance and convenience - they do not have to be kept to, and in fact footpaths in these sections of the Park are generally not waymarked. On larger scale - i.e., 1:25,000 - Ordnance Survey maps of Dartmoor, Access Land is edged in purple for easy reference.
This is not connected with the Labour government's Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 , which in due course will establish similar rights in other rural parts of the country. Dartmoor will be largely unaffected by this legislation because of its existing arrangements.
Dartmoor's Access Land, incidentally, is still privately owned land. Much of it, in fact, is owned by the Duke of Cornwall, a title held under a charter of Edward III by the Prince of WalesThe eldest son of the reigning monarch of Great Britain is traditionally invested with the title of Prince of Wales . This tradition began in 1301, when King Edward I of England, having completed the Norman conquest of Wales, gave the title to his heir, P. Other parts of the Park can, of course, still be accessed via the usual network of footpaths and bridleways.
The majority of the prehistoric remains on Dartmoor date back to the late NeolithicThe Neolithic (Greek neos new, lithos stone, or "New Stone Age") is traditionally the last part of the stone age. The name was invented by John Lubbock in 1865 as a refinement of the three-age system. It followed Pleistocene Epipalaeolithic and early Holo and early Bronze AgeThe Bronze Age is a period in a civilization's development when the most advanced metalworking has developed the techniques of smelting copper from natural outcroppings and alloys it to cast bronze. The Bronze Age is part of the Three-age system for prehi. 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 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.
The nature of the soil, which is highly acidic, means that no organic remains have survived. However, by contrast, the high durability of the natural granite means that their homes and monuments are still to be found in abundance, as are their flint tools.
Numerous menhirA menhir is a large, single upright standing stone (monolith or megalith), of prehistoric European origin. The word "menhir" was adopted, via French, by 19th century archaeologists on the basis of words in the Breton language meaning "long stone". In modes (more usually referred to locally as standing stoneStanding stones orthostats liths or more commonly, megaliths because of their large and cumbersome size, are solitary stones set vertically in the ground. Where they appear in groups together they are known as megalithic monuments and come in many differes or longstones), stone circlePrehistoric stone circles are megalithic monuments found almost exclusively in the British Isles, with two atypical examples known in Brittany. They are circular spaces, delimited by purposefully erected stones and often contain burials. They should not bs, kistvaenA kistvaen is a (usually pre-Christian) stone coffin, derived from the Celtic cist, meaning chest and maen meaning stone. Many fine examples of kistvaens are to be found on Dartmoor. These often take the form of small rectangular pits about 3 ft. 9 m) lons, cairnmountain glacier A cairn is a pile of stones. Typically, a cairn is used as a monument, to mark a path or to designate the summit of a hill. Typically, a traveller crossing the moors of Great Britain would pick up stones along the way and add them to thes and stone row s are to be found on the moor. The most significant sites include:
There are also an estimated 5,000 hut circles still surviving today, despite the fact that 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 6ft (1.8m) 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.
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