 Stone row on Shovel Down looking towards the Fourfold Circle | |
  Shown within Devon | |
| Location | Devon grid referenceSX660860 |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 50°39′25″N3°54′14″W / 50.657°N 3.904°W /50.657; -3.904 |
| Type | Stone rows,stone circle,standing stones |
| History | |
| Periods | Bronze Age |
Shovel Down is an area ofDartmoor inDevon that is covered inmegaliths including the remains of severalstone rows, the Fourfold Stone Circle, and several standing stones.
The Shovel Down stone row complex (grid referenceSX66968660) occupies the northern and southern slopes of a broad east-west ridge of unenclosed moorland.[1] It is of probableBronze Age date.[1] Approximately five double stone rows and one single stone row are to be seen.[1] Other probable Bronze Age monuments are in the immediate area, including the Fourfold Circle, the Long Stone, the Three Boy's Stone, and severalcairns.[1]
The Fourfold Circle (grid referenceSX65958601) is a configuration of four concentric stone circles. The outer circle has a diameter of 9 m, the others have diameters of 6.4 m, 4.7 m and 2.4 m respectively.[2] The Fourfold Circle is the location of a turf-covered cairn with a centralcist which has been robbed.[2]
The Long Stone (grid referenceSX66028567) stands in the middle of two stone rows.[3] It is referred to as the "Langstone" in a documentary source of 1240.[3] It now marks the boundary of three parishes.[3]
The Three Boys standing stone (grid referenceSX66028549) is a stone marking the southern end of one of the stone rows.[4] It is the only survivor of three such stones known as the Three Boys.[4] The two other stones are believed to have been taken for use as gateposts.[4]