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 provides 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.
This enclosed hut settlement south-west of Gutter Tor is a well-preserved
example of its type and provides important evidence of how early farming and
stock-rearing communities lived on the Moor.
Details
Low stone walls or banks enclosing a circular internal floor area form the
remains of timber and turf or thatch-roofed dwellings occupied by farmers of
the prehistoric period. They may occur singly or in larger groups and were
sometimes built within a surrounding boundary bank or enclosure. On Dartmoor
the long tradition of building stone-based round houses can be traced back
to the second millennium BC, probably from 1700 BC onwards.
This enclosed hut settlement south-west of Gutter Tor consists of a sub-
rectangular enclosure approximately 30m by 20m on a south-facing slope. The
boundary bank is on average 2m in width and 0.3m in height. Within it there
are five hut circles: two attached to the bank and three smaller ones within
it. The huts range in diameter from 2m to 10.5m, with walls, built of small
stones and earth, from 0.4m to 2m in width and from 0.3m to 1.75m in height.
There are entrances on the southern sides of the huts.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
10597
Legacy System:
RSM
Sources
Other
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.
End of official list entry
