Huts and fields on Hayne Down

Summary

Prehistoric stone hut circle settlement and part of an associated field system south of Hayne Down and 400m east of Moorhayes.

Reasons for Designation

Dartmoor is the largest expanse of open moorland in southern Britain and, because of exceptional conditions of preservation, it is also one of the most complete examples of an upland relict landscape in the whole country. The great wealth and diversity of archaeological remains provide direct evidence for human exploitation of the Moor from the early prehistoric period onwards. The well-preserved and often visible relationship between settlement sites, major land boundaries, trackways, ceremonial and funerary monuments as well as later industrial remains, gives significant insights into successive changes in the pattern of land use through time. Stone hut circles and hut settlements were the dwelling places of prehistoric farmers on Dartmoor. They mostly date from the Bronze Age, with the earliest examples on the Moor in this building tradition dating to about 1700 BC. The stone-based round houses consist of low walls or banks enclosing a circular floor area. The huts may occur singly or in small or large groups and may lie in the open or be enclosed by a bank of earth and stone. Although they are common on the Moor, their longevity and their relationship with other monument types provide important information on the diversity of social organisation and farming practices amongst prehistoric communities. They are particularly representative of their period and a substantial proportion of surviving examples are considered worthy of protection.

Despite being incorporated within later historic fields, the prehistoric stone hut circle settlement and part of an associated field system south of Hayne Down and 400m east of Moorhayes survives comparatively well. The largest hut in the settlement is recognised as being particularly impressive and the field system has pronounced lynchets. The huts and lynchets will certainly contain important archaeological structures and deposits, together with environmental information.

History

See Details.

Details

This record was the subject of a minor enhancement on 5 November 2015. This record has been generated from an "old county number" (OCN) scheduling record. These are monuments that were not reviewed under the Monuments Protection Programme and are some of our oldest designation records.

This monument includes a small stone hut circle settlement and part of an associated field system situated on a south facing slope overlooking Hound Tor. The stone hut circle settlement includes at least three stone hut circles surviving as circular orthostatic walls standing up to 1.7m high surrounding an internal area which varies in diameter from 7m to 8.5m. At least two of the huts have visible doorways. The field system includes at least four interconnected fields and an east to west orientated droveway. The field boundaries survive as stone and rubble lynchetted banks.

Further archaeological remains survive to the north of the monument, they are not currently protected and are not included within the scheduling because they have not been formally assessed.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

DV 338

Legacy System:

RSM - OCN

Sources

Books and journals
Butler, J, Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities, Volume One - The East , (1991), 153-4

Other
PastScape Monument No:- 445050

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