Merrivale (Menhir 1) Stone Row

Database entries

PDW coverage: Dartmoor Site: Merrivale Ceremonial Complex [Photo Set 1]
OS Map: SX 55361 74592
OS Source: Garmin
HER: MDV53397
Megalithic Portal: 3388
The Stone Rows of GB: Merrivale 4
PMD: Merrivale Menhir I Stone Row
Alternate name: Merrivale 4
Short Name: SR Mer Menhir
Butler map: 44.8.4
DPD page: 17
Exist: Yes
Record: Unique
Record Source: PDW
Hut Class: No
Dimensions (m): 2.97
Lidar: SX 55361 74592
Guide Map: 33
Nearest Bus Stop: Merrivale Dartmoor Inn (1.0 km) [Route: 98,171(20/07/26 to 19/09/26)]
Nearby sites: SX 55361 74592

Notes

Butler Row 4. Prehistoric Monuments of Dartmoor website Menhir 1. "Stone row 4 is now a trivial affair [Butler] of 3 small slabs aligned towards a squarish block near the base of the standing stone. This area has suffered some damage over the past century. There were 5 stones in 1895, the missing one presumably accounted for by the pit which has appeared between the upper stones. This may well be the site of the cairn, C4, at the head of the rows recorded by Rowe but not included in the plans of Lukis or Worth. Nor is there much surviving from the circle of slabs around the menhir depicted in Bray's plan and recorded by Spence Bate in 1871, or the nearby cist which he excavated, C5. The Exploration Committee excavated at both ends of the row but no more socket holes were found and they concluded that this short alignment was complete." Lethbridge pp.16-18, diagram p.16.

The main photo above is annotated below to show the stones of the row which are not orientated on to the main standing stone nor the small stone near it.



There are two excellent plans on Sandy Gerrard's Stone Rows of Great Britain (SRGB) website which help to understand the Menhir Rows 1-3 or Rows 4-6 (Gerrard's numbering). The second plan is annotated, see link to SRGB coverage from this record.

References

These are selected references with an emphasis on out of copyright sources linked as PDFs. For more detailed references try any linked HER or PMD record above.

• Baring-Gould, Sabine, A Book of Dartmoor, (2002)
• Bray, Anna Eliza, The Borders of the Tamar and the Tavy, vol.1, (1836)
• Butler, Jeremy, Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities, vol.3: The South-West, (1994)
• Lethbridge, William D., Discover Preshistoric Dartmoor, (2015)
• Rowe, Samuel, A Perambulation of Dartmoor (3rd Edition), (1896)
• Worth, R.N., The Stone Rows of Dartmoor - Part 2, T.D.A. Vol.25 pp.541-546 (1893)
• Worth, R.N., The Stone Rows of Dartmoor - Part 4, T.D.A. Vol.27 pp.437-442 (1895)