A cluster of five stone hut circles situated within a large enclosure 470m north-east 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. Within the landscape of Dartmoor there are many discrete plots of land enclosed by stone walls or banks of stone and earth, most of which date to the Bronze Age (c.2000-700 BC), though earlier and later examples also exist. They were constructed as stock pens or as protected areas for crop growing and were sometimes subdivided to accommodate stock and hut circle dwellings for farmers and herdsmen. The size and form of enclosures may therefore vary considerably depending on their particular function. Their variation in form, longevity and relationship to other monument classes 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 stone hut circles within the large enclosure north-east of Ger Tor survive comparatively well and contain archaeological remains and environmental evidence relating to the monument, the economy of its inhabitants and the landscape in which they lived. As such, the site provides a valuable insight into the nature of Bronze Age occupation on the west side of the Moor. Many of the huts are visually impressive examples of their type.

Details

This monument includes a cluster of five stone hut circles situated within a large enclosure lying on a south-east facing slope overlooking the valley of the River Tavy. The buildings are terraced into the hillslope and are composed of stone and earth walls each surrounding an internal area. The internal diameters of the huts vary between 4m and 8m, with the average being 5.8m. The surrounding walls vary between 0.5m and 0.8m high, with the average being 0.7m. The huts are clustered in a ring around an open space measuring 45m north-west to south-east by 27m north-east to south-west, in which further traces of occupation survive as buried features.

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:

22244

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Other
MPP fieldwork by S. Gerrard,
MPP fieldwork by S. Gerrard,
Devon County Sites and Monuments Register, SX58SE19,
Gibson, A, Single Monument Class Description - Stone Hut Circles, (1987)
Devon County Sites and Monuments Register, SX58SE19,

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.