Stone alignment, hut circle settlement, medieval long house and post-medieval farmstead at Assycombe

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 alignments or stone rows consist of upright stones set in single file or in avenues of two or more parallel lines, up to several hundred metres in length. They are often physically linked to burial monuments, such as small cairns, cists and barrows, and are considered to have had an important ceremonial function. The Dartmoor alignments mostly date from the Late Neolithic period (c.2400-2000 BC). Some eighty examples, most of them on the outer Moor, provide over half the recorded national population. Due to their comparative rarity and longevity as a monument type, all surviving examples are considered nationally important, unless very badly damaged.

Lying within close proximity to the stone alignment is a dispersed stone hut circle settlement and evidence relating to historic exploitation of this area. Taken together this gives an insight into how exploitation of this area has developed over at least 4000 years. Despite afforestation and some excavation, the stone alignment, hut circle settlement, medieval long house and post-medieval farmstead at Assycombe survive well and contain archaeological structures, features and deposits relating to prehistoric funerary, ritual and agricultural exploitation of this area, together with further evidence relating to historic occupation and farming practices.

Details

The monument, which falls into three areas, includes a stone alignment, dispersed stone hut circle settlement, medieval long house and post-medieval farmstead situated on a west facing slope overlooking the Assycombe Brook. The stone alignment includes two parallel lines of upright stones leading downslope for 125m from an encircled cairn. The lower end of the alignment is denoted by a blocking stone. Midway along the alignment a length of reave crosses the row and leads towards two stone hut circles situated to the south. Another hut circle lies close to the western end of the alignment and a further seven lie along the foot of the slope forming Assycombe Hill. The stone hut circles within the settlement all survive as banks each surrounding an internal circular area which varies from 11.33 to 51.5 square metres with the average being 28.26 square metres. The height of the surrounding walls vary between 0.5m and 0.9m, with the average being 0.71m. Six of the huts have visible doorways, two are attached to each other, one has an annex and the orthostatic, rubble bank and coursed walling building traditions are all represented. The medieval long house survives as a 7.5m long and 4m wide rectangular earthwork complete with drystone walling along the northern side and a well preserved fire place at the upper end. The post-medieval farmhouse includes a three roomed building with drystone and orthostatic walls standing up to 2m high. Surrounding the farmhouse are at least four yards each defined by low drystone walls and beyond these are several small fields.

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:

28655

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Butler, J, Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities, (1991), 167

Other
Haynes, R.G., Ruined Sites on Dartmoor - Middleworth, 1966, Unpublished Manuscript
MPP fieldwork by S. Gerrard, Gerrard, S., (1997)
Devon County Sites and Monuments Register, SX68SE38,
Devon County Sites and Monuments Register, SX68SE15.1,
Devon County Sites and Monuments Register, SX68SE17,
Devon County Sites and Monuments Register, SX68SE16,
Devon County Sites and Monuments Register, SX68SE21.1,
Devon County Sites and Monuments Register, SX68SE15,
Devon County Sites and Monuments Register, SX68SE20,
Devon County Sites and Monuments Register, SX68SE18,

End of official list entry

All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.

Print the official list entry