Two stone hut circles 1.035km ENE of Trewortha 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 pair of stone hut circles on Twelve Men's Moor have survived reasonably well, displaying clearly their mode of construction and plan despite limited stone-robbing. The proximity of these hut circles to other similar small groups of hut circles and to the larger hut circle settlements on Twelve Men's Moor and the Hawkstor Downs demonstrates well the nature and diversity of the settlement pattern during the Bronze Age.

Details

The monument includes two adjacent stone hut circles situated close to the north-east edge of Twelve Men's Moor on eastern Bodmin Moor, near other broadly contemporary hut circle settlements, hut circles and field systems on Twelve Men's Moor and the Hawkstor Downs. The hut circles are situated 7m apart on a north-south axis. The northern hut circle survives with a wall of heaped rubble, up to 2m wide and 0.3m high, defining a circular internal area 6m in diameter and levelled into the hillslope. A 3.5m wide break in the wall's south-eastern circuit contains the hut circle entrance but this has been enlarged by relatively recent stone- robbing. The southern hut circle survives with similar rubble walling, up to 1.5m wide and 0.15m high, around a levelled internal area 4.5m in diameter. A 1.75m wide break in the wall's south-eastern sector marks the entrance. This monument forms one of at least six small groups of hut circles dispersed along the contour from the south-east slope of Hawks Tor to the saddle between Trewortha and Kilmar Tors on Twelve Men's Moor. These hut circles are located close to two larger unenclosed hut circle settlements, one on Twelve Men's Moor from 85m south-west of this monument, the other on Hawks Tor with an associated field system, from 500m to the north-east. Over a dozen broadly contemporary funerary cairns, several with burial cists, are also located on Twelve Men's Moor, one of which is situated 122m south 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:

15218

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Other
Cornwall SMR entry for PRN 1014.24,
Consulted 6/1992, Cornwall SMR entry for PRN 1014.23,
consulted 6/1992, Carter, A./RCHME, 1:2500 AP transcriptions for SX 2475; SX 2575 & SX 2576,

End of official list entry

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