Enclosure with hut circles in Higher Piles newtake

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 enclosure is a well-preserved example with hut circles, forming an integral part of the concentration of settlement along this stretch of the Erme Valley. It provides important insight into 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 to 500 BC), though earlier and later ones also exist. This enclosure, on a west-facing slope in Higher Piles newtake, above the River Erme, consists of a main sub-rectangular enclosure 92 m. by 80 m., with two hut circles, and a subsidiary area on its south side, 53 m. by 36 m.. The walls of the main enclosure are drystone, 3 m. to 4 m. wide and up to a metre high, including very large stones. An entrance on the south side is marked by two stone jambs over a metre high. The hut in the south-west corner is terraced and interrupts the wall; it is 8 m. in diameter with walls 2 m. thick and up to 1 m. high. The second hut circle on the south side also interrupts the line of the wall; it is 7.5 m. in diameter with walls 2 m. thick and 0.3 m. high. The wall around the smaller area of the enclosure follows the line of the main west wall, then turns east and continues up the slope as a slight bank and ditch. The wall has two set faces in its western stretch, but beyond the first hut circle it is not faced and is wider and more tumbled. The changes of character may reflect later re-building.

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:

10531

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Other
SX66SW-091,

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