Four stone hut circles and a cairnfield 400m south-east of Wedlake Farm forming part of the settlement on the north-west slope of Roos 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, 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. Cairnfields are concentrations of three or more cairns sited within close proximity to one another; they may consist of burial cairns or cairns built with stone cleared from the land surface (clearance cairns). Round funerary cairns were constructed during the Bronze Age (c.2000-700 BC) and consisted of earthen or rubble mounds, sometimes ditched, which covered single or multiple burials. Often occupying prominent locations, they are a major visual element in the modern landscape. The considerable variation in the size of cairnfields and their longevity as a monument type provide important information on the diversity of beliefs and social organisation amongst early prehistoric communities. They are particularly representative of their period and a substantial proportion of surviving examples are considered worthy of protection.

The four stone hut circles and cairnfield on the north-west slope of Roos Tor survive well and contain archaeological and environmental evidence relating to the monument and the landscape in which it was constructed. The lynchet and clearance cairns provide a valuable insight into Bronze Age agricultural activity on the western side of the Moor.

Details

This monument includes four stone hut circles, a cairnfield, a lynchet and a group of trial pits situated on a gentle north-west facing slope of Roos Tor overlooking the valley of the Colly Brook. The stone hut circles are composed of rubble and earth and are all circular in plan. The internal diameters of these structures vary from 3m to 5m and the height of the walls varies between 0.2m and 0.7m. The cairnfield includes seventeen cairns scattered along a slight terrace. Three of the mounds are sub-circular in shape and these range in size from 4m to 6m in diameter and stand between 0.7m and lm high. Fourteen of the mounds are ovoid in shape, and these range between 3.3m to 9.5m long, 2m to 4.9m wide and stand between 0.2m and 1m high. The average height of all the mounds is 0.64m. The three sub-circular mounds are probably burial monuments; the remainder most likely represent stone clearance connected with cultivation of the area. The four trial pits each have a sub-rectangular pit measuring 3m long by 1.8m wide and 0.6m deep with an associated crescent shaped bank standing up to 0.5m high lying immediately downslope. These pits were excavated by tinners searching for tin ore. This monument forms part of a large unenclosed stone hut circle settlement.

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:

20386

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Butler, J, Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities, (1991), 86-7
Gerrard, G A M, The Archaeology of the Early Cornish Tin Industry, (1986), 254-5

Other
Gibson, A, Single Monument Class Description - Stone Hut Circles, (1987)
Raymond, F, Single Monument Class Description - Cairnfields, (1987)
National Archaeological Record, SX57NW18, (1991)

End of official list entry

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