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 hut circles and hut settlements
were the dwelling places of prehistoric farmers on Dartmoor. They mostly date
from the Bronze Age, with the earliest examples on the Moor in this building
tradition dating to about 1700 BC. The stone-based round houses consist of low
walls or banks enclosing a circular floor area; remains of the turf or thatch
roof are not preserved. The huts may occur singly or in small or large groups
and may lie in the open or be enclosed by a bank of earth and stone. Although
they are common on the Moor, their longevity and their relationship with other
monument types 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.
Tin has been exploited on Dartmoor since the prehistoric period and surviving
remains are numerous, well-preserved and diverse, with the two main types of
tinwork being streamworks and mines. The three different forms of tinwork
used to mine lode tin were lode-back pits, openworks and shafts. Lode-back
pits survive as shallow shafts which were sunk onto the lode outcrop to
extract cassiterite. These pits generally occur in linear groups following
the line of the lode, with associated spoil dumps. Many tin lodes have been
worked at the surface by digging pits onto the backs or surface exposures of
the lode to remove the mineral that lay above the water table. Openworks are
also known as beams and they were formed by opencast quarrying along the
length of the lode. The term openwork refers to the field evidence for
opencast quarrying of the
lode, which produced relatively narrow and elongated gulleys.
Shaft mining is synonymous with underground extraction, with access to the
lode being through near vertical or horizontal tunnels known as shafts and
adits. Underground workings are often complex in character, with considerable
layout variations reflecting developing extraction techniques. Within the
vicinity of most mines are found the remains of prospecting activity. This
generally takes the form of small pits and gulleys. Some mines have
associated surface buildings which provided a variety of services for the
working miners. The ore quarried from all three forms of mine was taken for
processing to nearby stamping mills.
A national survey of the tin industry in England was completed in 1999. This
demonstrated the number and diversity of surviving remains and the
significance of some areas for understanding the origins and development of
the industry. Dartmoor is one such area and here a representative selection
of sites with significant surviving remains has been identified as nationally
important.
The medieval strip field system on the lower western slope of Hamel Down
forms part of the best preserved example of this type of field system in
Devon and Cornwall. The clearly defined lynchets are, under certain lighting
conditions, visually impressive and contribute substantially to the character
of this part of Dartmoor. The substantial nature of the remains also means
that well-preserved archaeological and environmental information relating to
the character of medieval upland agriculture will survive. Later tinworking
activity has caused some limited damage to the field system, but also
contributes additional information concerning the character of the
relationship between farming and mining. The earlier prehistoric remains
provide a contrast to the much more intensive historic activity and taken
together this area represents an important insight into the developing
character of a much used upland landscape.
Details
The monument, which falls into three areas, includes a medieval field system,
several tin openworks, at least five prehistoric settlements and a cairn
situated on the lower west-facing slope of Hamel Down. Immediately to the
west of the monument lies the deserted medieval settlement at Challacombe.
The settlement forms the subject of a separate scheduling (SM36024).
The medieval field system survives as a series of narrow rectangular fields
denoted by substantial stone and earth banks. These mostly lie parallel with
the contours, but towards the northern and eastern edges, the field
boundaries lie across the contour. The fields on the steeper slopes are
defined by the most substantial boundaries known as lynchets. The fields
were built during the medieval period by the farmers at the nearby hamlet of
Challacombe. Each field was farmed separately and the individual farmers
held fields throughout the area. Traces of ridge and furrow within many of
the fields indicates that they were cultivated, although in others the large
amounts of surface stone suggests that they could only ever have been used
for grazing. Traces of a rectangular building at NGR SX 69647918 may be the
remains of a barn or other structure associated with the field system. This
structure survives as a 19.5m long by 5.5m wide stony platform standing up to
0.5m high.
Some evidence of tinworking activity also survives within the monument. At
least three small openworks cut through the field system. These openworks
were formed by opencast quarrying for tin ore.
Remains of prehistoric date include five small settlements and a cairn. Each
settlement includes an enclosure, but only three contain visible dwellings.
The settlement at NGR SX69657988 was partly excavated in 1938 when pottery
and flints were recovered. The large enclosure at SX69567931 which is
bisected by the Moretonhampstead to Widecombe road is denoted by a
substantial rubble bank standing up to 3.5m wide and 1.3m high. The cairn
stands in the south eastern corner of the monument and survives as a 13.4m
diameter mound standing up to 1.3m high. Two small hollows leading into the
side of the cairn suggests that it has been partially excavated or robbed.
All modern fences and other apparatus are excluded from the scheduling,
although the ground beneath is included.
MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.
