Summary

A stone hut circle settlement, field system, short cist and part of a warren 660m east of Roundhill Farm.

Source: Historic England

Details

This record was the subject of a minor enhancement on 10 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.

This monument includes a stone hut circle settlement, field system, short cist and a pillow mound situated to the east of Roundhill in a level area between the Blackbrook River and West Dart River. The stone hut circle settlement survives as a scatter approximately 17 hut circles close to the foot of the hill. The majority are small with internal diameters of between 2.5m to 4m and two of these are connected to a field boundary. Four of the hut circles are larger and have either internal divisions or ancillary structures attached and measure up to 8.2m in diameter internally. The hut circles are all defined by low rubble walls. The settlement lies within a field system which is partially visible and partly obscured by peat deposits. A length of wall on the west side of the settlement is the most clearly visible, but smaller lengths and pounds are present between the buildings of the settlement. To the north west is a short cist which survives as 0.9m long by 0.6m wide stone lined rectangular structure with a cover stone displaced to the east. To the east of the cist is a pillow mound which survives as an oval mound measuring 7.5m long, 4.5m wide and 0.5m high. It is ditched and there are some central rabbit holes visible.

Further archaeological remains in the immediate vicinity are not included in the scheduling because they have not been formally assessed.

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. 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. 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. Cists are small rectangular stone structures used for burial purposes and date to the Bronze Age. On Dartmoor they are made up of regular stone slabs forming a box-like structure sometimes topped by a larger coverstone. Short cists survive as free-standing monuments, with no enclosing stone and earth cairn. Their longevity, having been in use for a millennium or so, provides insight into the range of ceremonial and ritual practices of the contemporary farming communities. The Dartmoor examples provide one of the best preserved and most dense concentrations of this class of monument in south-western Britain. Pillow mounds are low oblong-shaped mounds of soil and/or stones in which rabbits or hares lived. Most have a ditch around at least three sides to facilitate drainage. The stone hut circle settlement, field system, short cist and part of a warren 660m east of Roundhill Farm exhibits many of the different activities on the moor, settlement, funerary, ritual and later reuse as a warren and clearly displays how climatic, cultural and agricultural practices have changed through time.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Butler, J, Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities, Volume Four – The South-East , (1993), 226-229
Other
PastScape Monument No:-443247, 443250, 443265 and 910026

Source: Historic England