Dartmoor's Best Prehistoric Sites

Jan 11

Dartmoor has the highest concentration of Bronze Age remains in Britain. Scattered across its open moorland are stone circles, burial chambers, hut settlements and long, enigmatic stone rows – some dating back over 4,000 years.

This guide highlights some of Dartmoor’s most important prehistoric sites, from famous landmarks like Grimspound to quieter, more atmospheric circles and tombs. Many lie in wonderfully remote settings, reached on foot across open moorland, and are best visited with a sense of context – and good local knowledge.

This page offers a high-level introduction to Dartmoor’s prehistoric landscape, outlining the types of monuments you’ll encounter and why they remain such a powerful part of the moor’s character. It forms part of our expert Dartmoor guide, which explores the landscape, history and practicalities of visiting Dartmoor.

More detailed, practical insight – including suggested routes, timing considerations and lesser-known alternatives – is shared privately with our guests as part of our Secret Dartmoor Guide. The guide reveals:

Walks that link multiple prehistoric sites
Practical access notes and parking guidance
The best times of day and year to visit
Little-known gems

A landscape shaped by ancient lives

You can’t go far on Dartmoor without encountering traces of its earliest inhabitants. Neolithic and Bronze Age communities lived, farmed and buried their dead here at a time when the climate was warmer and much of the moor was still wooded.

What survives today – standing stones, hut circles, cairns and cists (stone-built burial chambers) – feels inseparable from Dartmoor’s elemental character. These sites don’t sit behind fences or visitor centres. They emerge quietly from the land, often with no signposts at all.

For visitors, that’s part of their magic – and also why knowing where to go, how to approach them, and when to visit makes such a difference.

Standing stones, circles and rows

The most dramatic prehistoric monuments on Dartmoor are its standing stones, known locally as longstones or menhirs. Some stand alone; others form circles or long, deliberate rows whose exact purpose remains unknown.

Notable examples include:

Merrivale Stone Rows – Parallel stone rows embedded in the turf, forming one of Dartmoor’s most puzzling prehistoric features.
Scorhill Stone Circle – A beautifully preserved Bronze Age circle of tall granite stones, aligned so the tallest frames the midsummer sunset.
Staldon Stone Row – The longest stone row on Dartmoor, climbing steadily up Stalldown Hill, growing taller as it rises.
Soussons Stone Circle – A neat ring of low stones thought to mark a burial cairn, with a central cist.

Statistics aside, these are deeply atmospheric places – especially early or late in the day, when the moor is quiet and the light is low.

Ancient homes: hut circles and settlements

Less visually dramatic, but often more moving, are Dartmoor’s hut circles. There may be as many as 5,000 across the moor – the remains of round houses where families once lived.

The most famous example is Grimspound, an extensive late Bronze Age settlement dating back around 3,000 years.

Here, the foundations of 24 roundhouses survive within a substantial enclosing wall, along with porches, hearths, paved floors and evidence of everyday life – pottery, tools and charcoal. A stream running through the enclosure explains its exposed but practical location.

Standing inside Grimspound, with the moor rising around you, it’s easy to imagine the rhythm of life here – farming, cooking, sheltering from the weather – played out over generations.

Tombs, folklore and burial places

Many Dartmoor sites are wrapped in legend as well as archaeology.

Childe’s Tomb – A reconstructed granite tomb topped with a cross, said to mark the death of a Saxon hunter caught in a storm on the moor.
Nine Maidens Stone Circle – Also known as the Seventeen Brothers, this incomplete Bronze Age circle is rich in folklore, with tales of dancers turned to stone for breaking the Sabbath.
Spinster’s Rock – Devon’s best surviving Neolithic burial chamber, built around 3500–2500 BC and once covered by an earthen mound.

These stories, passed down for centuries, add another layer to places already heavy with atmosphere.

Beyond prehistory: Hound Tor deserted village

Dartmoor’s sense of deep time doesn’t end with the Bronze Age. At Hound Tor deserted village, the remains of a 13th-century farming community sit beneath the tors.

Stone longhouses, barns and drainage channels tell the story of medieval life on land that had already been farmed thousands of years earlier. From the rocks above, there are sweeping views across the abandoned settlement and surrounding moor.

Visiting Dartmoor’s prehistoric sites

Many of Dartmoor’s prehistoric sites are unfenced, unstaffed and reached on foot. Weather, ground conditions and navigation all influence how – and when – they’re best experienced, particularly if you’re seeking quieter moments on the moor.

Read more

→ For broader inspiration on exploring Dartmoor, visit our Dartmoor experiences page

Suzy Bennett

This blog is written by Suzy Bennett, The Telegraph’s Devon travel expert and owner of Moorland View Cottage. Suzy has been welcoming couples to Devon’s most romantic corners for over 20 years – combining first-hand local knowledge with real hosting experience to help guests plan unforgettable romantic breaks.