Stone hut circle, cairns and irregular aggregate field system 850m SSE of Sourton Tors

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, 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. Elaborate complexes of fields and field boundaries are a major feature of the Dartmoor landscape. Irregular aggregate field systems are one of several methods of field layout known to have been employed in south-west England from the Bronze Age to the Roman period (c.2000 BC-AD 400). They comprise a collection of field plots, generally lacking conformity of orientation and arrangement, containing fields with sinuous outlines and varying shapes and sizes, bounded by stone or rubble walls or banks, ditches or fences. They are often located around or near ceremonial and funerary monuments. They are an important element of the existing landscape and are representative of farming practice over a long period. A substantial proportion of surviving examples are considered worthy of protection.

The stone hut circle and irregular aggregate field system 850m SSE of Sourton Tors survives comparatively well and contains archaeological remains and environmental evidence relating to the monument, the economy of its inhabitants and the landscape in which they lived. As such, it provides a valuable insight into the nature of Bronze Age occupation on the west side of the moor. Discrete small-scale irregular aggregate field systems associated with a single hut are very rare on the moor.

Details

This monument includes a stone hut circle lying within an irregular aggregate field system situated on a gentle north west facing slope of Corn Ridge. The field system includes at least three fields and is defined by a series of 1.5m wide and 0.4m high rubble banks, which are lynchetted where they lie along the contour. Four cairns lie within the field system, two are oblong in shape and are attached to boundary banks, whilst the others are circular and lie within the fields. The largest mound measures 6m long, 4m wide and 0.7m high and may represent a partly damaged funerary cairn, which was incorporated into the later field system. The remaining three cairns are believed to be the result of field clearance. The stone hut circle lies within the southern field, is terraced into the hillside and is composed of a stone and earth wall surrounding a circular internal area. The interior of the building measures 2.3m in diameter and the surrounding 1.4m wide wall stands up to 0.3m 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:

24054

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Butler, J, Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities, (1991), 218

Other
MPP fieldwork by S. Gerrard,
Gibson, A, Single Monument Class Description - Stone Hut Circles, (1988)
Gerrard, S., (1993)

End of official list entry

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