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Prehistoric settlement near Merrivale Bridge
Grid ref: SX 5529 7521
On walking routes: Abbot's Way
This scheduled monument north-east of Merrivale Bridge combines evidence of different periods of Dartmoor settlement. At its core is a prehistoric settlement and associated field system, likely Bronze Age, showing how people organised their landscape for agriculture and habitation. A cairn, also from the prehistoric period, stands as a marker in the moor.
Later, in the medieval period, three pillow mounds were constructed on or near the same site. These distinctive earthworks are the remains of rabbit warrens, a managed resource that would have provided food and fur for local communities. The overlay of settlement from Bronze Age to medieval times reflects the long continuity of human activity across Dartmoor.
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