Two stone hut circles 450m SSE of Ger Tor

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 stone hut circles 450m SSE of Ger Tor survive comparatively well and contain archaeological structures, features and deposits which provide a valuable insight into the economy of the site's inhabitants and the landscape in which they lived. Small stone hut circles such as these are considered to be relatively rare on Dartmoor and were clearly never intended as permanent dwellings.

Details

This monument includes two stone hut circles aligned north-south lying on the eastern edge of a narrow terrace situated on a steep west-facing slope overlooking Tavy Cleave. The huts are terraced into the hillside and are each composed of a stone and earth bank surrounding a circular internal area. The interior of the northern hut measures 2.6m in diameter and the wall stands 1.7m wide and 0.4m high. The doorway faces WSW. The southern hut measures 2.2m in diameter and is defined by a wall, 1.5m wide and 0.3m high. The doorway faces WNW.

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:

22316

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Other
MPP fieldwork by S. Gerrard,
Gibson, A, Single Monument Class Description - Stone Hut Circles, (1987)

End of official list entry

All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.