The story of hill farming on Exmoor is told here for the first time through archaeological evidence newly revealed after two years of systematic survey work. This compelling narrative of human endeavour against a beguiling, yet harsh landscape takes the reader from the pioneer farmers of the medieval period through to the inexhaustible energy of the Victorian improvers who transformed the landscape of Exmoor. The focus of the book is the battle and it is a battle to make the wastes and moorland of this upland landscape as productive as possible. Meticulous survey work is presented showing how...