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Ten stone hut circles forming part of an unenclosed settlement at Watern Oke

Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places

Overview

Heritage Category:: Scheduled Monument
List Entry Number:: 1011566
Date first listed:: 23-Aug-1993

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Official list entry

Heritage Category:: Scheduled Monument
List Entry Number:: 1011566
Date first listed:: 23-Aug-1993

Location

The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.

County:: Devon
District:: West Devon (District Authority)
Parish:: Dartmoor Forest
National Park:: DARTMOOR
National Grid Reference:: SX 56785 83335

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 unenclosed stone hut circle settlement at Watern Oke is one of the largest on Dartmoor and, despite partial excavation, important and informative archaeological structures, features and deposits still survive. Such evidence will provide a valuable insight into the economy of the site's inhabitants and the landscape in which they lived.

Details

This monument includes ten stone hut circles situated on a gentle south facing slope overlooking the River Tavy and forming part of the large unenclosed stone hut circle settlement at Watern Oke. Of the ten huts, six are circular in plan and the internal diameters of these huts vary from 2.8m to 4.8m. Three huts are oval in plan, and these range between 2.8m to 4.2m long and 2m to 3m wide and stand between 0.5m and 0.8m high. The remaining hut is a two roomed structure with an oval compartment measuring 2.8m long by 2m wide and a circular room measuring 2.7m in diameter. The average height of all the walls is 0.82m. One hut contains a hearth, six have doorways and one a porch. This monument forms part of one of the largest unenclosed stone hut circle settlements on Dartmoor. During June and July 1905 these stone hut circles were partially excavated by the Dartmoor Exploration Committee. Considerable quantities of charcoal were found together with cooking, sling and rubbing stones, pottery and flint artefacts. Further stone hut circles probably survive in the area north of the monument, but these are not included in the scheduling because they are buried below peat and cannot therefore be identified.

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:: 20361
Legacy System:: RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Anderson, I K, 'Devonshire Association Transactions' in Hut Circle Settlement at Watern Oke, (1906), 111
Anderson, I K, 'Devonshire Association Transactions' in Hut Circle Settlement at Watern Oke, (1906), 112
Other
Gibson, A, Single Monument Class Description - Stone Hut Circles, (1987)

Legal

This monument is scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 as amended as it appears to the Secretary of State to be of national importance. This entry is a copy, the original is held by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.