6 TJu Ancient Stone Crosses And thus by the track that led from town to town, and by the lonely paths over the bleak and barren hills, was the cross erected, that he who journeyed might feel certain of his way. Where a road diverged from, or was crossed by another, it was frequently placed* As the old tracks on Dartmoor were in many cases nothing more than a grassy path, and in places scarcely to be distinguished, such marks were of the greatest utility, and no doubt often safely guided the traveller when pursuing his way over the hills of the silent moor. As a bond-mark, loo, was the cross particularly suitable. The importance in early times of such being respected was very great, and an object reverenced as was the cross would become an efficient guard against encroachments. Many of the possessions of religious houses had their boundaries so defined, as is evidenced by records wherein these are named, not always by crosses set up for the purpose perhaps, but by adapting those already existing. That some of the crosses in the Dartmoor country also marked the limits of a sanctuary is not improbable. The cross was also erected at the place of burial. In very remote times we know it was the custom to raise a stone pillar as a monument over the dead, and in the early days of Christianity the cross took its place. The ancient observance was not given up, the form of the monument was simply changed, and the old menhir and the inscribed stone gave way to the symbol of the new faith. It is indeed most likely that the very earliest crosses were those connected with the rites of sepulture. The sacred emblem was at first merely inscribed upon the rude pillar, until at length men began to give the latter the shape of the former, and so the cross was gradually substituted for the upright stone. The crosses which are to be found on Dartmoor, like most of the Devonshire examples, are of simple form, and cannot boast of the beauty which belongs to some of those existing to the westward of the Tamar. A few only possess any
- They are often seen in such situations, and the former existence of
others is revealed by the names of many places upon our highways and in our lanes. It is not, however, suggested that this is always the case when the word " Cross " is affixed to a name ; sometimes it means nothing moie than a cross-road.
