MOST walkers on Dartmoor will have seen mysterious lines of stones stretching across the bleak rolling landscape. Some rows are as many as three kilometres in length, once comprising hundreds of standing stones. Their strange alignment clearly held some purpose for our prehistoric forebears ? but what? Early historians attempted to connect these ancient sites with Druids and their sacrificial rites ? but even modern archaeology has failed to define their true purpose until now. For the first time here is a book which provides the answer to one of Dartmoor?s greatest mysteries: who built the prehistoric stone rows across the moorland landscape, and what was their purpose? In ?Dartmoor Sun? (Halsgrove £14.99) Tavistock author Jack Walker has taken a scientific approach to exploring the mystery of the Dartmoor stones. He links them to other prehistoric sites in Britain and in Europe and provides an answer as to how and why they were built. Jack?s interest in the stone rows grew from a chance encounter while walking on the moor. ?One evening I was in the right place at the right time to observe one of Dartmoor?s ancient monuments as its builders intended,? he said. Using his skills as a scientist and engineer Jack set about proving to himself that prehistoric man?s knowledge of the universe was fundamental to his way of life. Jack takes the reader on a fascinating journey of exploration across Dartmoor ? revealing the power and influence of the sun and stars on the lives of those who lived there thousands of years ago. ?Dartmoor contains unique evidence of settlements, daily life, monuments and the ceremonial sites of those who occupied it from the Neolithic through the Bronze Age and beyond,? says Jack. ?Despite the ravages of civilisation much of Dartmoor?s past remains intact and forms a unique link to our ancestors. The moor is blessed with a wealth of hut circles, stone rows, stone circles and ancient ceremonial complexes left in trust for all who follow.? He says there are several worthy, scientifically surveyed and detailed accounts of the layout of Dartmoor?s antiquities but disappointingly few radiocarbon dates. ?Although it is important to have the measure of these antiquities, it is more interesting to know what they were for, how they were used and what they tell of the lives and beliefs of the builders. ?Dartmoor Sun is an attempt to answer some of these questions based on the well preserved remains of three of Dartmoor?s ancient ceremonial complexes.? Written in an accessible and enlightening style the book is illustrated with many colour photographs and diagrams. For all of us who like to see a problem solved, or new light thrown on an old mystery, ?Dartmoor Sun? is a fascinating read.

ROGER MALONE