Stone hut circle 954m WSW of East Castick Farm

Reasons for Designation

Bodmin Moor, the largest of the Cornish granite uplands, has long been recognised to have exceptional preservation of archaeological remains. The Moor has been the subject of detailed archaeological survey and is one of the best recorded upland landscapes in England. The extensive relict landscapes of prehistoric, medieval and post-medieval date provide direct evidence for human exploitation of the Moor from the earliest prehistoric period onwards. The well-preserved and often visible relationship between settlement sites, field systems, ceremonial and funerary monuments as well as later industrial remains provides significant insights into successive changes in the pattern of land use through time. Stone hut circles were the dwelling places of prehistoric farmers on the Moor, mostly dating from the Bronze Age (c.2000-700 BC). The stone-based round houses survive as low walls or banks enclosing a circular floor area; remains of a turf or thatch roof are not preserved. The huts occur singly or in small or large groups and may occur in the open or be enclosed by a bank of earth and stone. Although they are common on the Moor, their longevity of use and their relationship with other monument types provides important information on the diversity of social organisation and farming practices among prehistoric communities. They are particularly representative of their period and a substantial proportion of surviving examples are considered worthy of protection.

This hut circle on Hawk's Tor has survived well. It displays a most unusual feature in the form of the paired internal orthostats. The substantial build-up of deposits against its uphill side will preserve buried land surfaces and environmental evidence contemporary with, and subsequent to, its construction and use. Its proximity to other broadly contemporary settlement sites, enclosures, field systems and cairns demonstrates well the nature of farming practices and the organisation of land use during the Bronze Age.

Details

The monument includes a stone hut circle situated on the lower SE flank of Hawk's Tor on eastern Bodmin Moor, near other broadly contemporary hut circle settlements, enclosures, field systems and cairns. The hut circle survives with a wall of heaped rubble, up to 0.7m high and 1.5m wide, faced both internally and externally by edge-set slabs. The wall defines a circular internal area, 9.75m in diameter, levelled into the hillslope. The interior of the hut circle contains two small free-standing slabs, called orthostats, 0.5m and 0.6m high respectively and 1m apart on an east-west axis, situated slightly NW of the hut circle centre. A marked accumulation of deposits washed down the hillslope is present against the uphill, NW, side of the hut circle wall. This hut circle is an outlying member of a dispersed, unenclosed settlement containing at least 23 hut circles, whose main concentration is centred 110m SW of this monument.

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:

15148

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
King, G, Sheppard, P, Cornish Archaeology in Parochial Checklist of Antiquities 10: Parish of North Hill, Vol. 18, (1979)

Other
consulted 10/1991, Carter, A./RCHME, 1:2500 AP transcription for SX 2576,
consulted 9/1991, Cornwall SMR entry for PRN 1014,
consulted 9/1991, Cornwall SMR entry for PRN 1190,
consulted 10/1991, Cornwall SMR entry for PRN 1178.19,
consulted 10/1991, Cornwall SMR entry for PRN 1178,

End of official list entry

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