Summary

Prehistoric enclosed settlement 140m north of Routrundle.

Source: Historic England

Details

This record was the subject of a minor enhancement on 5 November 2015. This record has been generated from an "old county number" (OCN) scheduling record. These are monuments that were not reviewed under the Monuments Protection Programme and are some of our oldest designation records.

The monument includes a prehistoric enclosed settlement situated within enclosed land on a west-facing slope of Ingra Tor overlooking the valley of the River Walkham. The enclosure survives as an oval shaped area denoted by a rubble wall measuring up to 2m wide and standing up to 1.3m high. The north western and north eastern lengths of enclosure wall partly underlie a later historic drystone wall. The interior of the enclosure measures 58m north - south by 54m west - east and contains at least one stone hut circle. The stone hut circle is situated in the middle of the enclosure and survives as an 8.7m diameter internal area surrounded by a 1.7m wide double orthostatic and partly coursed wall standing up to 1.1m high. A south-facing gap in the hut wall denoted on its western side by an edge-set slab represents the site of a doorway.

Source: Historic England

Reasons for Scheduling

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.

Despite later reuse of the enclosure, the prehistoric enclosed settlement 140m north of Routrundle survives well and will contain archaeological and environmental information relating to this area during the prehistoric period.

Source: Historic England