The discovery of two neolithic stone circles has strengthened the argument for a “sacred arc” of ancient monuments in Devon.
One circle has been compared to Stonehenge, while the second may have served as a gateway to an arc of stone circles in Dartmoor National Park.
Artist and archaeologist Alan Endacott discovered the two rings with the help of volunteers working on the moor in September and October.
The latest discovery follows Mr Endacott’s discovery of a stone circle near Sittaford Tor in northern Dartmoor in 2008, after a moorland fire exposed several large stones.
He told the Guardian: “It’s been wonderful. Since Sittaford I’ve been doing lots of systematic searches. You’ve got to get off the beaten track to find anything new on Dartmoor.”
One of the circles has been named Metheral Circle after the hill it stands at the foot of. The other is near a point on the moor called Irishman’s Wall.
The national park has more than 20 stone circles dating back to the third millennium BC. According to Dartmoor National Park, they have been subjected to disturbance, destruction, and changes, which makes understanding their original use “very difficult.”
Mr Endacott said an external bank around Metheral Circle is suggestive of a Neolithic henge monument similar in form to Stripple Stones on Bodmin Moor, Cornwall, the Ring of Brodgar on Orkney and an early phase of Stonehenge.
He suggested sites on Dartmoor’s “sacred arc” would have possibly acted as markers in a landscape which would have had much more forest cover in ancient times.
The archaeologist said the latest excavations exceeded his expectations, uncovered new evidence and raised even more questions about why they were built.
Dartmoor National Park is said to feature the largest concentration of Bronze Age remains in the country, with experts saying the remnants have endured down the ages thanks to their being made of granite.
Burial mounds and stone chambers dating back to the Neolithic period are also found on Dartmoor. Rows of stones and stone circles were quite common, according to Dartmoor National Park.
There are also cairns on the moor, with about 1,310 round cairns and more than 210 ring cairns – an arrangement of stones marking a burial site.
The remains of Bronze Age dwellings can also be found, though only granite walls remain as evidence of these. Known as round houses, these tend to be circular and from 6ft to 30ft in diameter.
