Almsworthy Common

Almsworthy Common is a small area of unenclosed land in Exmoor, south-western England. It contains a number of archaeological sites.

It is about 2 miles north of Exford roughly 0.5 km2 in area, and the Macmillan Way West passes through it, as does the parish boundary between Exford and Porlock. It reaches a height of 453 metres.[1]

Stone settings are arrangements of upright stones either scattered randomly or in a roughly geometric pattern.[2] They are the most common form of stone monument found on Exmoor, with 57 conclusively recorded examples in this area.[2] A large number are known to have existed but have been destroyed.[2]

560 m south west of Chetsford Bridge is a stone alignment.[3][4] The archaeologist Aubrey Burl stated that an "eye of faith" was needed to identify "either a ring or a set of rows."[5] The Ordnance Survey list it as a "Stone Circle" on their map.[5] In his 1970 study of the archaeology of Exmoor, Leslie Grinsell thought that it was "probably" a stone circle.[6]

The common is also the site of one of the best preserved hut circles on Exmoor.[7]

References

Footnotes
  1. Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 map
  2. Riley & Wilson-North 2001, p. 27.
  3. "Almsworthy Common: a stone alignment 560m south west of Chetsford Bridge". Historic England. Archived from the original on 8 December 2014. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
  4. "MSO6727 - Prehistoric stone setting on Almsworthy Common". Exmoor Historic Environment Record. Exmoor National Park. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
  5. Burl 2005, p. 76.
  6. Grinsell 1970, p. 38.
  7. "MSO6736 - Almsworthy Common Hut Circle". Exmoor Historic Environment Record. Exmoor National Park. Retrieved 31 December 2017.

Bibliography
  • Burl, Aubrey (2005). A Guide to the Stone Circles of Britain, Ireland and Brittany. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-11406-5.
  • Grinsell, Leslie V. (1970). The Archaeology of Exmoor: Bideford Bay to Bridgwater. Newton Abbot: David and Charles. ISBN 978-0-7153-4953-3.
  • Riley, Hazel; Wilson-North, Robert (2001). The Field Archaeology of Exmoor. Swindon: English Heritage. ISBN 1-873592-58-2.
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