Dartmoor quiz
Old books sometimes spell "Black Tor" differently. Which of these is one of those spellings?
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Prehistoric Settlements
Pound NE of Holwell Tor
Grid ref: SX 7531 7781
On walking routes: Templer Way
Main image: Photo: yvette ansell, Wikimedia Commons
This pound, or livestock enclosure, lies on the open moorland northeast of Holwell Tor. Pounds were communal facilities used across Dartmoor to contain stray animals, settle disputes over livestock, and enforce grazing rights. The structure would have been built from moorstone and designed to hold cattle or sheep temporarily.
The site's position in this part of Dartmoor, along with its survival as an earthwork, reflects the long history of pastoral farming on the moor. Today it appears as an archaeological feature in the landscape, part of the network of medieval and post-medieval field systems and moorland management that shaped Dartmoor's character.
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