The English historian William George Hoskins, a native of Devon, argues in this clip that St Michael's Church was built on top of Brent Tor because it was formerly a pagan place of worship. Local folklore about the Tor connects it to the Devil who apparently did not want the church to be built. The earthworks near the base date to the Celtic Iron Age and are thought to be military (part of a hill fort) but this does not rule out the possibility that later pagans used the old fort as a place of worship. Generally in Indo-European religions, the worship which took place at the top of mountains involved animal sacrifices to a sky father, which makes sense. You want the offerings to be as close to him as possible. If Hoskins is right then surely a proper archaeological survey will reveal remains of animal sacrifices up there. Anyway I went up there today to have a look at it myself. #Dartmoor #brentor #paganism #archaeology #pagansites #devonhistory #ironage #skyfather #indoeuropean #misty #moorland https://www.instagram.com/p/CHDq5vjAdFs/?igshid=yvupi7gkghdg
