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English Heritage, in partnership with the Dartmoor National Park Authority, The Ministry of Defence and National Trust, are publishing a new field survey of the archaeology of Dartmoor. The Field Archaeology of Dartmoor by Phil Newman describes and narrates Dartmoor’s landscape history from 4,000 BC to the present, analysing and summarising archaeological and historical studies from the 19th century onwards.
Dartmoor is southern England’s largest tract of upland and its diverse natural qualities assured its designation as one of England’s first National Parks in 1951. Despite the acknowledged natural appeal of Dartmoor as wild, rugged and beautiful, this landscape is not a place comprised only of natural spectacle. The human dimension has pervaded the natural environment for thousands of years – people have adapted and exploited Dartmoor for its natural resources, since at least the Mesolithic period, while settlement and farming has occurred here since the early 2nd millennium BC. There is no part of Dartmoor where human intervention has not played a part in shaping the character of the landscape. Nature, in turn has itself adapted to the changes brought about by humans. The landscape of Dartmoor today represents a synergy between people and the environment.
The book offers an exploration of the elements that comprise the historic landscape of Dartmoor and, through the results of archaeological investigation, explains some of the human activities that have contributed to the shaping and character of the modern landscape. Its geology, prehistoric settlement, Romano-British organisation, medieval character and early tin industry are described in turn. Accounts are given of Dartmoor’s 19th and 20th- century industrial landscape and heritage (tin, copper, silver-lead and china clay) and how they co-existed with traditional forms of upland farming. Subsidiary industries (peat, gunpowder mills, ice works and tramways) and the moor’s use for military training bring the narrative up to the present.
This is the result of extensive fieldwork by the English Heritage Archaeological Survey and Investigation team in which they produced a substantial body of high specification survey data. Moreover, English Heritage aerial photographers have run regular flying programmes over Dartmoor resulting in an impressive collection of new colour and black and white photography, much of which is reproduced within the book. This is a multi-thematic and multi-period piece of research presented in an uncomplicated style.
The Field Archaeology of Dartmoor by Phil Newman
Published by English Heritage, 14 July 2011
RRP £30.00
Isbn: 978-1-84802-033-7
224 illustrations
264pp, 276x219mm
Available at Amazon.co.uk
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