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Two enclosed stone hut circle settlements 300m south of Broad Hole

Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places

Overview

Heritage Category:: Scheduled Monument
List Entry Number:: 1008657
Date first listed:: 11-Jan-1965

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Official list entry

Heritage Category:: Scheduled Monument
List Entry Number:: 1008657
Date first listed:: 11-Jan-1965
Date of most recent amendment:: 26-Sep-1994

Location

The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.

County:: Devon
District:: West Devon (District Authority)
Parish:: Dartmoor Forest
National Park:: DARTMOOR
National Grid Reference:: SX 59075 78266

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; remains of the turf or thatch roof are not preserved. 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.

The two enclosed stone hut circle settlements 300m south of Broad Hole survive comparatively well and form part of a discrete but more extensive dispersed settlement pattern in the upper Cowsic valley, including two large enclosed settlements, four small enclosures with single huts and a number of unenclosed stone hut circles.

Details

This monument includes two enclosed stone hut circle settlements situated on an east facing slope overlooking the River Cowsic. The western settlement includes a small oval enclosure with a single stone hut circle built across the line of the boundary wall. The interior of the enclosure measures 38m north west to south east by 25m north east to south west and is defined by a lyncheted rubble wall measuring up to 1.5m wide and 0.4m high. A gap in the north eastern side of the enclosure wall may represent an original entrance. Part of the southern length of the enclosure wall survives as a buried feature. The stone hut circle attached to the northern length of the boundary wall is situated on a small knoll and is composed of rubble and earth. The interior of this structure measures 3m in diameter and is defined by a 2m wide wall standing up to 0.4m high. The eastern enclosed settlement includes an irregular shaped enclosure, subdivided into two compartments and containing four stone hut circles. Three of these huts are attached to the internal boundary wall and the fourth is freestanding within the southern compartment. The easternmost hut also lies across the line of the enclosure boundary. The internal diameter of all these huts varies between 2.7m and 3.8m and the walls stand between 0.5m and 0.7m high. The interior of the enclosure measures 75m from north to south by 48m east to west and is defined by a rubble bank measuring up to 2m wide and 0.6m high. The bank forms a lynchet along its eastern length, but survives largely as a buried feature along the west side. The northern limit of the enclosure is defined by a cairn measuring 4m in diameter and standing up to 1m high.

MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract. It includes a 2 metre boundary around the archaeological features, considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:: 22250
Legacy System:: RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Butler, J, 'Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities' in Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities - The North, (1991), 65
Butler, J, 'Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities' in Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities - The North, (1991), 125
Other
Devon County Sites and Monuments Register, SX57NE71,
Gibson, A, Single Monument Class Description - Stone Hut Circles, (1987)

Legal

This monument is scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 as amended as it appears to the Secretary of State to be of national importance. This entry is a copy, the original is held by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.