The southern of three enclosures north of Ford Waste

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.

This enclosure with hut circles north of Ford Waste forms part of a dense concentration of occupation evidence along Ford Brook.

Details

This enclosure lies on a south-east facing slope north of Ford Waste. It is sub-rectangular in shape, with an indentation in the north-west side and two hut circles close to this feature. The enclosure is cut by a later newtake wall and corn ditch. The enclosure measures 80m in length (east/west) and 40m in width (north/south) and has a bank of earth and stone up to 3m in width and 0.5m in height, partly robbed of stone in the vicinity of the newtake wall. The south-east bank lies on a lynchet. The huts are 6m and 9m in diameter respectively, with walls up to 3m in thickness and 0.3m in height. The intake wall is excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath it is included.

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:

10765

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Other
SX66SW-099, SX66SW-099, (1990)

End of official list entry