Day 5: Dartmoor National Park

You alright? That means “how are you doing?” over here in the UK.

Welcome back to the blog. Today we had another long day in the van and took a couple of stops in Dartmoor National Park after starting very early in the morning.

The Duo strikes again!

Don't work too hard there, Charlie!

Our journey began at 6:30 this morning and we drove an hour and a half to our first site. Immediately everyone could tell when we arrived at Dartmoor; the land turned in to rolling hills and wide open green fields that seemed to never end. There were animals including sheep, ponies and cows roaming free. It was quite amazing to see animals in the wild like this. Although we all really wanted to go and pet the ponies, we were advised not to. Next we hiked up one of the hills. As we walked along we stopped frequently to look at different stone patterns. We saw geometric features composed of sub-rounded boulders. These features ranged in size from 3 to 4 meters long to 10 to 12 meters long.  We saw stone nets, which are oval in form with a depression in the center.  These form along a steeper gradient slope.  We also saw stone stripes on even steeper slopes formed in a similar way to the nets. One can observe a pattern with lines of  stones broken up by a continuous vegetation cover that runs down a slope. Finally we noticed sorted stone circles with the long axis or A axis aligned in a circular pattern on the gentlest slopes. All of these landscape features stem from periglacial processes dominated by freeze-thaw action operating on the tor above.  We discussed the joints in the bedrock which create avenues for water to migrate laterally and downwardly. Upon freezing, expansion of the ice wedges the rocks apart into smaller ones. Periglacial processes move these rocks down the hill and form all the stone patterns on the slope. All the stones were made up of Dartmoor granite. This is a rock that has three different minerals in it: quartz, mica, and feldspar. It forms from when magma slow cools resulting in the large crystals.

Our rocky classroom. The seats weren't the most comfortable, but you can't beat the view!

Also, along the way, we found and identified three types of flowers and plant species. First was the Bell Heather, a purple bulb like flower. The color went from dark to light on each individual bulb. Next was a Potentilla. It was a yellow flower that looked very similar to a buttercup and very small. Last was the Bracken, a type of fern. It was all over the hill slope and is an invasive species in many moorlands in upland Britain.  After we made it to the top we sat down to hide from the wind, which was blowing at about 20 knots (about 23 mph) and was just about blowing Brittany over!  

Bell Heather

Potentilla

Bracken Fern

The  focus of our next stop was on human impacts on the land. These are not impacts from modern development, but rather impacts from ancient cultures. Again, we looked for patterns and other unique features and found stone circles.  Unlike the circles found at the tor on our previous stop, these were more obviously placed there with a purpose. They were oriented in a way that would not have occurred naturally.  They were placed on their sides with the widest side oriented inward. 

A circle of stones - mysterious.

Shortly thereafter, we came upon another feature affected by humans which appeared to be some sort of burial site.  It had two large stones over a shallow hole, about the right size for a body. Brittany had fun climbing in! It is important to note that we say it “appeared to be”. One thing that was made very clear during this portion of the trip is that, without concrete evidence, any ideas we have of what a feature could have been used for is just that – an idea. So while we might think, from our current perspective, that it was a burial site, we are basing that on our own modern ideas and cultural norms.

How is it down there, Britt?

Other features encountered included another stone circle; this one more spread out than the previous one and only had 11 stones in total. One theory is that this was used as some sort of calendar by which to track the seasons. Not far from this was a tall pillar. All these ‘field monuments’ are of an architectural style called megalithic.

The class discusses the pillar.

The main point made during this visit was the effect that human interactions with the environment can be long-term. The peat in this area has been analyzed for pollen types to determine the vegetation that would have been present at various times. The pollen present in the layer coinciding with the time during which these features are believed to have been placed suggests that, had that human interaction not occurred, the area would currently be wooded rather than grassy as it is today.

Overall we had a great day and all learned a lot about rocks from Dr. Middlekauff and a lot about archaeological impacts from Dr. Smith. Dr. Collins had a lot of important ideas that put everything the other teachers said into perspective. 

Until next time!
-The Duo

Sponsorship towards the creation of some of the materials for the Study Abroad in the UK trip provided by the Office of Undergraduate of Research.

Day 4: Alternative Uses of Mining Sites

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“On the fourth day, the light and seasons were created.”

Our fourth was a little different; we visited the Eden Project and the Cornish Poldark Tin Mine. The Eden Project is located near St. Austell, which is in the southwest peninsula of the United Kingdom. The project was built in a former china clay pit in 1999 and opened to the public in 2001. The purpose of this project was to prove that a devastated land can be repurposed into something beautiful, educational, and economical for the town.

Group shot at Eden Project

At the bottom of the former clay pit stood the 6 biomes of the Eden Project. When we arrived we went on a guided tour of the rainforest biome, which is not only the largest of its kind, but also the largest free standing scaffolding in the world. It is 160 meters long and 60 meters tall. Due to the height, a large balloon is sometimes used as a way to trim the taller plants. As you hike up the path inside the biome, the temperature and humidity noticeably increased. The covering of the biomes is made up of 3 layers of a thick plastic which provides insulation and a unique look to the project.

As the elevation within the biome increases, there are differing species of plants. One such plant that was identified to us was the Giant Tarro. This plant has the largest leaves in the world, and has self-cleaning leaves which have evolved such that water beads up and rolls right off.

On our way through the biome, our tour guide told us about something that most of us use every day; palm tree oil. The guide said that virgin forest is being cut down to grow palm trees. Most of the time we use the oil without realizing it since it is labeled as vegetable oil. The lesson here is to know what you're buying and vote with your dollars. Buy products that you know are sustainable and healthy for the environment.

Rainforest biome to left, Mediterranean biome to right

Outside of the biomes, there were several interesting features including a 4.371 ton, 3.75 meter tire to a mining truck, statues and sculptures, and even a hut made with willow. As a student traced the stone labyrinth set in the floor of the willow hut, our tour guide mentioned an interesting side note. Willow is used for charcoal and aspirin. He also told us that in ancient times men would give women willow earlier in the day so that later in the evening that headaches wouldn't be an excuse.:)

The whole tour had no problem engaging us and ended with a revealing mechanical enactment of what the world would be missing without plants, including items that we take for granted such as tables, milk, and clothes.

Poldark Mine guide

Whereas the Eden project revitalized a clay mine, the Poldark Mine has not been remediated. Our somewhat intimidated tour guide, who thought we would ask far too difficult questions, since he had just started his job, showed us the remaining lode of tin in the mine. Higher grade tin is darker. Several main tunnels have been widened to accommodate tour groups but still require a hard hat and the wear-with-all to climb a slippery spiral staircase. When the mine was active between 1720 and 1780, the shafts were only about four feet high and the width of a Cornish axe, which are actually shorter than most other axes. After descending a slippery narrow ladder up to 150 feet into the mine, the miners used to free the ore using wedging and explosives. The mine is not deep because the water table is high. Not only were the conditions cramped, but there was the danger of either drowning from an unmanned pump or underestimating the time required for the bird feather fuses to burn. As miners depleted a deposit, they accessed the next vein by mining out the granite parallel to the old tin deposit. Families worked the mine together in shifts up to 12 hours with no breaks. Women crushed mined stone to separate the tin and children of ages as low as nine carried the rock to the surface. Miners typically had lifespans of only 34 years. If you ever saw a woman in the mine, you could safely assume that a member of her family had passed away that day. Cornish miners were the cornerstone of the technology for mining in many parts of the world.

Group shot at Poldark Mine exit

On a more uplifting note, we stopped at one of the area’s most popular fish and chip shops, called a "Chippy" for a group dinner on the way back to the hotel.

It was quite a day, with a range on learning opportunities and even temperatures from 102° F in the rainforest at Eden to 52° F in the mine.

Sponsorship towards the creation of some of the materials for the Study Abroad in the UK trip provided by the Office of Undergraduate of Research.