Members of an adult education class (including some members of ACE) researched and then wrote this excellent guided walk of the Kestor area.
A review of the 46th Newsletter, now produced in Copenhagen, written by David Purnell
ACE members attend a practical workshop given by Neil Burridge. Report written by Tim Whitbourn.
A report on a lecture given by Thelma Beswick at the Devon Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers, written by David Purnell.
A GUIDED WALK
INTRODUCTION
Dartmoor has one of the best preserved prehistoric landscapes in the country. Whilst it may appear bleak and empty now, in the past there were many settlements for farmers and tin workers. The evidence for the lives of these people lies in the walls of their fields and houses, and in the ritual monuments they left behind them. This guide provides a short walk through the Kestor Bronze Age settlement which is situated in the North East area of Dartmoor near the town of Chagford at map reference 665872.
HOW TO GET THERE
Take the A382 from Whiddon Down in the North or Bovey Tracy in the South. Chagford is signposted from this road. Pass through the small but busy and fashionable town, leaving the church to your left, following a road signposted to Fernworthy Reservoir. After about 1 mile, the road to Fernworthy takes a sharp bend to the left, and you need to take the road to the right signposted to Kestor. The road meanders for about 1.5 miles through the settlement of Teigncombe. The road climbs steeply onto the moor and immediately the road levels off, there is a car park - or at least a space for parking cars - on the right.
OVERVIEW
This site probably dates from the early Bronze Age and continued in use to the Roman period and beyond. The evidence to support this comes mainly from pottery and pollen and has been dated using C14 dating and typology.
From evidence found, the area appears to have been used for mixed farming consisting probably of arable crops such as wheat and barley. Cattle, pigs and sheep were also reared on this site but due to the high acidity of the soil no bones remain but evidence can be drawn from other sites. Farming was possible because of the climate in the Bronze Age which was warmer than it is today by 2 or 3 degrees C. Also the peat that we find on the moor today had not been laid down to any great depth
From the artefacts found there is evidence to suggest that trade and exchange was carried out in this area. There is evidence of flint on the site, which must have come from a least the Bovey basin a distance of about 15 miles, this being the nearest source. Pottery dating from the middle Bronze Age has been found in large quantities on the site this comes from at least two different areas, the Lizard peninsular in Cornwall and from the Exe valley in Devon.
From the structure of the remains, which consists of houses, field systems and reaves it can be ascertained that there may have been a social organisation of some type. The way that the houses and field systems are laid out it would suggest a communal co-operative was at work. It could also be interpreted as a society dominated by a powerful individual or group of people. The variety in the size of the houses and especially Roundy Pound, which is very large and complex, would suggest that this was the case. Evidence found by archaeologists Aileen Fox and Andrew Fleming would seem to support this theory.
There appears to be a division between the domestic and the ritual as most of the ritual monuments lay outside the field systems.
Reaves were low stonewalls which may have been covered with turf and possibly a fence on top but there is little evidence for this. These reaves separated the fields and usually there was a terminal reave dividing the fields from what appears to be common land. A terminal runs at a right angle to the field systems. Kestor is different in one way because it appears at a later date more field systems were built beyond the original terminal reave.
THE WALK
1. Start at the cattle grid and walk along the lane towards ROUNDY POUND.
This is one of the largest round houses on the site, which is situated inside a round (ish) pound. The pound itself measures 34m in diameter. It possibly dates from the Bronze Age (2200bc - 800bc) but there is a lot of evidence from the Iron Age (found when excavated in 1953 by Aileen Fox). The house seems to have been divided into two distinct areas - one being a living area and the other a working area. The entrance to the house was stepped and cobbled which is similar to the houses at Grimspound. Within the working area the remains of an iron furnace and slag was found. The iron ore may have come from the Lustleigh area, which is about 12 miles away.
As this house is surrounded by a compound and is the largest one in the settlement it most likely could have been a headman's house.
In the Medieval period the site was used as a shelter by shepherds.
2. Continue along the lane until it makes a sharp turn into Batworthy. Keeping the Batworthy boundary wall to your right, continue ahead across the moor. At Batworthy Corner, the wall makes a right turn. On the left and heading up the slopes are the Shoveldown STONE ROWS.
There are approximately 76 stone rows on Dartmoor. There may be more. Some were identified in the 19th century and have since been lost, some robbed out to build walls, some have possibly disappeared in to the encroaching peat, and some lost in reforestation. Yet others may have been incorrectly identified. After all there is a lot of stone on Dartmoor. On the edge of the Kes Tor Settlement, as it runs into Shovel Down, are 5 possibly 6 stone rows.
Dating of stone rows is very difficult but it is usually suggested that they pre date the Bronze Age settlements that we can see around them. These settlements may hide evidence of earlier settlements that were contemporary with the stone rows.
A suggested date is around 2000 BC but the construction of the rows across Dartmoor may cover 1000 years.
Excavation beneath the stones, were it possible, might help to date the rows but the acidic nature of Dartmoor soil means that there would be little evidence left, even if there had been anything there in the first place. This has generally proved to be the case in the small number of rows where any excavation has been carried out. Any finds have been in the cairns which sometimes end the rows, in this case it has been mostly burnt matter that has been found, charcoal and some bone, suggesting cremations.
The most intriguing question is why were the stone rows built. Even the comparatively small stone rows of this system must have taken many hours of work to erect, suggestive of an important communal effort.
Stone rows and circles are enigmatic. From the finds and the lay out of the roundhouses we can make reasonable assumptions about domestic life in the Bronze Age and relate it to our own, but the stone rows are another matter.
3. Follow the stone rows up the slopes until you reach the end. The tall LONGSTONE should be evident.
The Longstone is located at the end of one of the stone rows where it appears to act as a blocking stone. It is about 3.1 metres high but is not the highest on the moor this is located at Drizzlecombe at 4.5 meters. It probably dates from the same time as the stone rows. These standing stones are often referred to as Menhirs (from Breton men = stone and hir = long). There are a number of such Longstones on Dartmoor another being at Merrivale, which is 3.1 meters high.
The stone is used as a boundary stone marking the parish boundary between Chagford and Gidleigh. According to a story, during the beating of the boundary of Gidleigh parish, a young lad was encouraged stand on his head on top of the Longstone. For this he received the princely sum of 6d.
4. From the Longstone, you can see the craggy outcrop of KESTOR itself. There are a number of small paths that can take you there. The Tor is easy to climb and is a great place to see the whole area.
Kestor Rock dominates the immediate landscape and from the pattern of reaves that run away from the Rock, it was a feature used in the bronze age field systems that lie to the north and west of the rocky tor. Kestor itself has a coarse granite cap with a fine-grained granite pedestal, the latter probably an inclusion of some scale. This fine grained granite is sometimes called blue granite, and in some parts of Dartmoor, such as at Yennadon Down, produces garnets at the interface with the younger coarser grained rock. Another feature on Kestor is a rock basin, some 5 feet across and 3 feet deep. Discovered under peat in 1830, the basin was formed by frost exploiting weaknesses in the grains of the rock to shatter the rock progressively. This is rather more prosaic than the legend of the Dartmoor druid who made the hole for purifying ceremonies and human sacrifice. On first finding, the hole was fenced off to stop sheep falling in, but these have long since been removed, apparently as Dartmoor sheep have become brighter.
There is a splendid view from Kestor. To the north and east, there is the landscape of mid Devon with the Teign valley and Castle Drogo prominent. The Mariners Way runs up the ridge towards Kestor from the northeast; this path was a marked way apparently used by mariners travelling to and from Plymouth in medieval times. But from the lay-out of the reaves that form a continuation of this path, the Mariner's Way itself picked up an existing bronze age route that was probably a drove way. To the west lies the ridge from Cosden Beacon to Hangingstone Tor, while to the south there is the obscenity of Ferworthy plantation, scarring the view towards Hamel Down.
5. Continue along the ridge towards the trees that mark the edge of the common land of the moor in this area. About 250 metres north east of Kestor Rock, these modern fields walls come to a corner. 150 metres due east from this corner, there is the TEIGNCOMBE ROUNDHOUSE. The house is on private land and is, therefore, inaccessible.
The House, which is currently the subject of an archaeological survey into the damaging effects on antiquities of bracken infestation. This survey was begun in 1999 and has continued every year since; this round house was chosen for invasive study because there are some 5000 examples currently known to exist on Dartmoor alone. In the course of the extensive excavation, a detailed study has also been carried out on the finds of artefacts, including pottery, flints and other materials unearthed. Although precise interpretation and dating of these artefacts is difficult, sherds of pottery have been found possibly dating from the Middle Bronze Age, through the Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age, and include some Romano British pieces as well as some from the 14th - 16th century. A number of plastic items, including a yoghurt pot, have been unearthed, recorded and dated. There have also been a number of flints found. Indeed, more artefacts have been found at this round house than any other single place on Dartmoor and this presents the fascinating possibility that the house might have been in use from Stone Age through to medieval times, with even evidence of some more modern usage. Also during the excavations, a number of quartz crystals have been found. There is much speculation over these crystals, with suggestions ranging from them being used as toys by children to having some artistic or religious significance to the house occupants, or, more prosaically, washed down from higher rocky layers of granite.
The house is not quite visible from the wall, but a stone circle in the field above it is very clear. This is, in fact, a modern circle built by the current landowners, and not an ancient monument.
6. With the field wall to your right, continue down the slopes a little until you find a long narrow trench in the ground. This is likely to be a medieval leat, a way of transporting water across the moor. By following the leat you come to the best example of a small bronze age farmstead in the Kestor settlement. This consists of the remains of a series of Bronze Age round houses, field systems and reaves. Jeremy Butler has numbered these houses in his series of books titled the Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities. House 14 also known by local archaeologists as the 'Bike Shed' is the first house that you encounter. It is one of the largest, being approximately 8.9 metres in diameter with the remaining walls being constructed of large granite slabs. There are two smaller ruined houses next to this house. Also joined to it by a ruined wall is a small squared walled enclosure, which is unusual for the Bronze Age, and as yet its use has not been discovered.
To the East across a drove way and surrounded by gorse is another ruined house (15), being smaller at only 5.8 metres in width.
To the North, again crossing the drove way is another very impressive house (13), also known as the ‘Swimming Pool’ due to the fact that there is always water in it. This house, 8.4 metres in diameter, has an exceptionally thick wall up to 3.5 metres across with the complete remains of its inner facing massive granite slabs surviving.
Further North is the remains of house 11 with a diameter of 9.1 metres, the walls of which have been incorporated into present day field enclosure walls.
Some of the smaller structures may have been used as workshops , and it appears that each house has its own couple of field associated with it. Between the houses is a deep lane or droveway. This dates from the time of the settlement but leads down the slopes to the green lane that forms part of Mariners Way.
7. Climb back to the top of the ridge and then back down to the car at the cattle grid. As you walk, you may notice many other reaves and houses. The whole of these slopes are covered with settlement evidence.
THIS GUIDE was written collaboratively by students studying Dartmoor Archaeology at Queen Elizabeth's Community College, Crediton
Bibliography
Butler, J 1991 Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities Vol 2. Devon Books
Butler, J 1997 Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities Vol 5. Devon Books
Crossing, W 1905 Echoes of an Ancient Forest
Fleming, A 1988 The Dartmoor Reaves: Investigating Prehistoric Land Divisions. Batsford
Fox, A 1953 "Excavations at Kestor" in Devon Association Transactions Vol 86
Gerrard, S 1997 Dartmoor. Batsford
Gerrard, S 1999 Interim Report Dartmoor Archaeology and Bracken Project
Gerrard, S 2000 Interim Report Dartmoor Archaeology and Bracken Project
Gerrard, S 2002 Interim Report Dartmoor Archaeology and Bracken Project
Gerrard, S 2003 Interim Report Dartmoor Archaeology and Bracken Project
Griffiths, D (ed) 1996 The Archaeology of Dartmoor. Devon Archaeological Society
Handsford Worth, R 1953 Worth's Dartmoor 1994 Edition
Pettit, P 1974 Prehistoci Dartmoor. David and Charles
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The Archaeological Textiles Newsletter (A. T. N.)
In the spring of 2008, the first annual general meeting of the society Friends of the A. T. N. was held at the Centre for Textile Research in Copenhagen. The publication has now been transferred from John Peter and Felicity Wild at Manchester University. With a new editor and digitisation, and now a part of the Danish National Research Foundation, the Newsletter has a new look and plans for wider distribution, possibly in PDF format as well. Issue 46 published earlier this year is in full colour with 33 pages of interesting articles, information and an attractive cover.
The Newsletter currently concerns itself with the Old World textiles from Western Europe to Japan, although the New World may be included if deemed relevant. Although the Newsletter is substantially in English, articles are accepted in French and German. The articles show how much detail can be gleaned from the smallest of fragments or impressions of textiles. Nevertheless, the benefits of experimental archæology in this field are now being fully appreciated. For example, it has been shown that octagonal tablets were used in a particular process to provide a particular effect.
Textiles have a multitude of processes, all of which effect the final product. These include the material or fibre or part of fibre used for the yarn, and whether there is a mixture of materials. One can determine how the yarn was constructed and the number of strands, and the direction of the twist of the strands and the yarn, and how the twist was achieved. Also, the thickness of the yarn and the density of the treads for both the warp and the weft. Varying the density of the threads on either the warp or the weft changes how much of the threads of either the warp or the weft can be seen or totally hidden. The weaving processes have perhaps even more attributes and variables. The attributes of the final product including style, fringes, patterns and colours, can all be related to status and the identity of the individual who wore it.
There are wider implications about societies that can be obtained from ancient textiles. In issue 46 of the A. T. N. there is a detailed report on the textiles from the excavations of the Qasr Ibrim site on the eastern side of Lake Nasser in Lower Nubia, Egypt. The site, now an island, was occupied from at least the 8th century BC to the early 18th century AD. It has been found that the Napatan period (about the 8th to 3rd century BC) only used flax for their textiles. Examination of these textiles has shown that only two beam looms were used for weaving, and that the weaving techniques were limited. The midden deposit of the Meroitic period (1st century BC to the mid 4th century AD) has shown that cotton was widely used together with various looms, including warp weighted looms. This begs the question of the transition from the Napatan to the Meritic period. Although not mentioned in the article, I would suggest that the end of both period come at times of climatic catastrophe. The Santorini eruption in 1626-7 BC and the two close events around 345 AD. The effect of the latter event was not as severe in Britain as in other places on the planet, hence the movement of people to Britain to grow food.
Textiles also show the status and identity of the wearer, and so give some background to the society being investigated. A common feature of both the Napatan and Meroitc periods is the use of elaborate fringes. During the Meroitic period, the character of a fringe was a significant marker of both status and identity.
The A. T. N., and current information about the society "Friends of the Archaeological Newsletter", can be obtained from their web site www.atnfriends.com
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BRONZE AGE AXE CASTING IN THE C21! by Tim Whitbourn
A group of 15 interested and interesting people from groups such as ACE, DAS and DTRG gathered at Stover Country Park near Bovey Tracey. The event was an opportunity to take part in a Bronze Axe Casting workshop (cost £30 per person) led by Bronze Age weapons expert Neil Burridge, and hopefully for all of us to take home a bronze axe head.
The day started with a health and safety talk, at which, interestingly, the major concern was the build up of carbon monoxide in the upper part of the tent in which the furnace was situated. One is tempted to wonder whether Bronze Age metal workers used to work outside, or whether the mortality rate among them was very high.
Neil proceeded to introduce the subject with a discussion on Bronze, and the society/environment in which it was used. The ores of both Copper and tin were discussed, as were the proportions in which they would have been used to cast bronze objects.
The smelting of copper from the sulphide ore, a bright green and very soft mineral, was demonstrated. Participants were invited to break up the ore, which was then layered with crumbled charcoal in the crucible, and heated up in the furnace. This was approximately 0.5m diameter, and quite shallow, with the air being supplied via two hand pumped bellows. After what seemed like only a few minutes the crucible was removed from the furnace and the copper poured into a bucket of water. On contact with the water, the copper solidified into shiny globules.
The next part of the course concerned the smelting of some scrap bronze, (as may often have been the case in prehistoric times), in another crucible heated in the furnace. The temperature was allowed to build slowly to 1150°C, the bellows only being used towards the end of the 20 minute smelting period to control and maintain the correct temperature - a thermocouple from the C21 was allowed for this!
The two halves of the preheated axe head mould were carefully matched up and clamped together by a very modern G clamp. Two able volunteers were brought forward, and after a quick run through to test co-ordination skills, took up position to pour the molten bronze from the crucible into the mould. The red hot crucible was placed by Neil into a retaining ring in the middle of an iron bar approximately 4´ long. The volunteers grasping either end of the bar poured the bronze into the mould a few inches below.
As the bronze cooled before our eyes we were told that it would shrink as it cooled, and could either break the mould or pull one of the ends off the finished axe. It appeared therefore, that the time at which the mould was loosened was critical, obviously an experienced eye was needed here.
At last, an excellent copy of an Arreton Down type axe head dropped from the mould, and it was easy to see how the process could have been considered by some as being ‘magical’.
Although time did not allow all taking part to cast their own axe head, we were all given one similar to that which was cast on the day, and using the same technique. The afternoon session then became much harder work as we began the process of cleaning, hardening and polishing the axes. The cleaning was soon done and the axes hardened by the simple method Df hitting the edge with a small hammer - a slightly more precise technique than imagined, for the blows to compact the metal’s crystal structure. Polishing was achieved by rubbing the axe with a lump of soft chalky rock similar to that from the Avebury area, which when dipped in water formed a soft and very messy paste, which did produce a sort of sheen on the axe surface.
Some daring folk among us also attempted to decorate the axe, using, in this case, a masonry nail ground to the correct profile. Neil felt, however, that the Bronze Age implement would have been a work hardened bronze punch which would have needed to have been reworked many times before the decoration was complete.
During each stage of the day, the processes were clearly explained, and good explanations given as to what was happening. The day ended with us all sitting around the glowing embers of the furnace, polishing the axes, and discussing at some length the history, uses and symbolism of these and other artefacts during the Bronze Age. If one could ignore the white tent and imagine a dark and cosy roundhouse one could easily be transported back in time to a Bronze Age settlement on Dartmoor! This was a very worthwhile day, and one enjoyed by all who took part.
More workshops are planned at Stover Country Park - Tel 01626 835236.
See also www.bronzeagecraft.co.uk for more information on courses and events run by Neil Burridge, as well as excellent photos of his work.
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The Archaeology of Weaving
As a member of the Devon Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers, I recently attended a talk entitled The Archaeological History of Weaving. The talk was presented by Thelma Beswick, who is an artistic weaver and most knowledgeable in the ancient history and pre-history of textiles and their production. She and her husband work closely with archaeologists and, like so many of us amateurs, sometimes get frustrated by some archaeologists lack of knowledge and appreciation of specialist subjects when they make broad assumptions about the past. Here are some impressions from the talk.
Although a progression can be determined in the development of techniques and complexity of weaving, it does not mean that simple techniques were left behind. Back strap looms, where the warp threads are secured at one end on a post, and the other end secured to a strap around one's body to provide the tension, are still in use today. Likewise, the art of Sprang weaving, which is purely hand twisting of threads set on a simple frame, is still practised, as is basket weaving. In addition, the time-scale of weaving continues to lengthen. The oldest depiction of a warp weighted loom now comes from a rock drawing in Lombardy dated at 6000 bc.
Textiles are more than just the art of weaving. Different fibres give yarns different properties, as do the differences in spinning, such as thick, thin, tight, loose, and even spun (twisted) to the left or right. Also, the tools used can vary enormously, and can often be overlooked or misinterpreted, such as an object looking like a long flat spear head with a short shaft, or a short comb with long teeth. These are beaters with which to beat the weft thread firmly against the previous weft thread. Drop spindles, used to spin fibres by hand, have a circular weight with a centre hole into which the spindle is inserted and pressed securely. The weights can be of many materials, weights, and sizes depending on the yarn required.
There is now some evidence to suggest that the weights were removed after spinning the thread, and the spindle then used as a shuttle without transferring the yarn to a separate shuttle. Likewise, the weights on a warp weighted loom can be of many shapes, sizes and material; even flat seed pods or pouches filled with sand are very effective, giving precisely equal weights. As spinning and weaving are both time consuming yet important activities (Ghandi wove the cloth for all his own clothes), it was widespread, yet most of the evidence has been lost because organic materials are most often used as tools.
A dress that has been worn, at least since classical Greek times to mediaeval, is a simple seamless tube. II is made by winding one thread wound between two beams to form the warp, which forms the basis of the tube about 6 to 7 feet long (the width of the beams) with a diameter of 2 and a half to 3 feet. The weft is woven and the beams rotated until the tube is complete, with the last weft thread(s) sewn in. The tube is dropped around the body, the top foot or so is turned over on the outside, and clasps inserted at the top over each shoulder, and the arms coming out each side. The resultant top overlap at the back can then be used as a hood or shawl. Adding a belt and drawing up a substantial overlap over the belt provides both an overskirt and a useful temporary basket.
Recently, an experiment was undertaken to confirm that the Vikings used wool to make their sails. The full sized sail took ihree years to spin, weave and complete. Sails must have many particular properties, including the amount of stretch, to be effective, all of which needed to incorporated during the whole process. Contrary to popular belief, the wool sail outperformed calico. Tn addition, the natural oils in wool made the sail water resistant, and so the weight did not increase when it rained. The time taken shows that weaving was an important part of everyday life; proficiency and labour saving techniques have always been paramount.
In a recent report on Radio 4, the reporter described how he had followed a group of young girls along a Peruvian mountain path. The reporter said that it was difficult for him to keep up with the girls as they skipped along what was little more than a rock strewn ledge on the side of a precipice. Yet all the girls were drop spinning continuously all the way. This demonstrates how spinning and weaving is and always has been an integral part of everyday life, yet the archaeological evidence is often overlooked or missing.
Fortunately, there are enthusiasts such as Thelma Beswick to support the very few archasologists who have a knowledge of textiles. Perhaps the leading textile archaeologist in the country is John Peter Wild at Manchester University, who produces a regular Archaeological Textiles Newsletter. Meanwhile, ACE will see if John and Thelma Beswick are willing to come and give a talk to ACE members on the archaeological evidence of the mechanics of spinning and weaving.
April 2005
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