A tor enclosure is a prehistoric monument found in the southwestern part of

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

. These monuments emerged around 4000 BCE in the early

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several part ...

. Tor enclosures are large enclosures situated near natural rock outcrops, especially tors, on hilltops or the sides of hills. They consist of one or more roughly circular stone walls built around the tor. They are comparable to the causewayed enclosures found elsewhere in the British Isles and many are of similar

date although others are from later in prehistory.

Examples

The best known examples are Carn Brea in

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlan ...

, the first to be identified, following excavations in the early 1970s, and Helman Tor between

Bodmin Bodmin () is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated south-west of Bodmin Moor. The extent of the civil parish corresponds fairly closely to that of the town so is mostly urban in character. It is bordere ...

and

Lostwithiel Lostwithiel (; kw, Lostwydhyel) is a civil parish and small town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom at the head of the estuary of the River Fowey. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 2,739, increasing to 2,899 at the 2011 ...

in the same county. Other possible examples are: * Rough Tor on

Bodmin Moor Bodmin Moor ( kw, Goon Brenn) is a granite moorland in north-eastern Cornwall, England. It is in size, and dates from the Carboniferous period of geological history. It includes Brown Willy, the highest point in Cornwall, and Rough Tor, ...

Stowe's Hill Stowe's Hill is an elongated hill, high, located on the eastern edge of Bodmin Moor in the county of Cornwall, England.Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 ''Explorer'' map series, No. 109 Stowe's Hill is a prominent granite ridge located about 1500 metres ...

, also on Bodmin Moor * Whittor on

Dartmoor Dartmoor is an upland area in southern Devon, England. The moorland and surrounding land has been protected by National Park status since 1951. Dartmoor National Park covers . The granite which forms the uplands dates from the Carboniferous ...

References

Types of monuments and memorials Stone Age Britain {{UK-archaeology-stub

Examples

See also

References