A HAND forged iron object, created in the likeness of an historical cobra head boundary marker, was installed at Eylesbarrow, Dart-moor last month.

In 1867 four iron posts, resembling cobra heads, were erected in a straight line from Great Mis Tor to North Hessary Tor and South Hessary to Eylesbarrow, to mark out the Walkhampton boundary.

Since then the Great Mis Tor post had been replaced by an Army flagpole used to fly the red warning flag whilst firing is taking place. The North Hessary post hole had been covered by a triangulation point and the South Hessary cobra head was recently repaired and replaced by Dartmoor National Park Authority (DNPA).

The post at Eylesbarrow had been repaired by the national park authority but was broken off and removed in 2014 by vandals, despite the post having no monetary value.

The making of the new cobra head boundary marker for Eylesbarrow was part funded by the Dartmoor National Park Authority and the Duchy of Cornwall, to replace the one that had disappeared from Eylesbarrow.

The traditional art of forging the wrought iron post was completed by Gary Sharman, blacksmith at Princetown Forge, towards the beginning of this year.

A large piece of granite was carefully manoeuvred across Dartmoor tracks by the DNPA team and all involved in replacing the old piece of granite with the new one were vigilant as to not interfere with the archaeological setting at Eylesbarrow between two prehistoric burial cairns on the crest of the hill.

Jane Marchand, senior archaeologist of the DNPA involved in the project to replace the iron post, said: 'The DNPA, jointly with the Duchy of Cornwall, have funded the making of a new cobra head.

'From an archaeological point of view all the boundary markers, which define the For-est of Dartmoor, are historically important as they help to preserve the whole history behind the creation of the Forest of Dartmoor and have been used as reference points when carrying out the perambulation of the forest over many hundreds of centuries.

'Although the cobra heads only date back to the nineteenth century they are important as they are the result of a boundary dispute, are unique in their style and of course only two out of the original four now survive and are well known features on Dart-moor.'