Agglomerated enclosure on the west side of the Erme Valley below Stalldown

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 agglomerated enclosure is a well-preserved example with hut circles and is associated with Piles Reave. It provides important insight into human land use and farming practices on the Moor during the prehistoric period.

Details

The Dartmoor landscape includes many discrete plots of land enclosed by stone walls or earth and stone banks, which acted as stock pens or protected areas for crop growing. Some of them were subdivided to accommodate hut dwellings for farmers and herdsmen. Many examples date to the Bronze Age (c.2500 - 500 BC), though earlier and later ones also exist. This agglomerated enclosure with hut circles, has three enclosures and further lengths of walling, five of the hut circles are attached to enclosure walls. Walls are up to 4m wide and a metre high, some terraced into the slope, some show orthostatic entrances and wall-facing. The complex would have provided human accommodation and stock pens or growing areas. It appears to be associated with Piles Reave, which curves across the hillside above. The modern track which runs through the monument is excluded from the scheduling, but the underlying deposits are 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:

10515

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Other
Devon County SMR (SX 66 SW-089),

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