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Megaliths, Mênhirs and Stone Circles of Devon

North Devon
East Devon
South Devon
West Devon


Mesolithic: Middle Stone Age, 8000BC to 4500BC
Neolithic: New Stone Age, 4500BC to 2200BC
Bronze Age: 2200BC to 700BC
Iron Age: 700BC to 43AD
Roman: 43AD to 410AD
Post Roman: 410AD to 1000AD
Medieval: from 1000AD


Devon as a whole may not have the headline ancient monuments such as Stonehenge or Avebury or even an Uffington White Horse or Cerne Abbas Giant. What it does have is a large number of often secluded smaller sites dating from the Mesolithic right through to the Post Roman Era and the onset of the so-called Dark Ages.


Image courtesy of Ian Smith at iandsmithphotography.com

The main concentrations of ancient monuments are found on higher ground - hills and the high moorlands of Exmoor and Dartmoor. Overlooked by the casual visitor or tourist they offer a window on the past, their very seclusion making the stone circles and standing stones; the settlements and stone rows a place to relax and reflect on their purpose and the choice of their location.


Are they astronomical tools, to mark the changing of the seasons, or part of a 'ritual landscape' honouring their ancestors or, are they something else entirely? The ancient sites are found throughout the county. Click on your region above and explore one near you...