Details

This monument includes a stone hut circle situated within a small enclosure
lying at the base of a cliff on a north-facing slope overlooking the valley of
the River Tavy. The enclosure is irregular in plan and measures a maximum of
26m from north to south and 18m from east to west and is defined by a rubble
bank with an average width of 1m standing up to 0.5m high. The entrance is
placed centrally in the northern wall and measures 2m high.
The stone hut circle is placed against the southern end of the western wall of
the enclosure. The hut's wall is composed of a rubble bank measuring 1.5m
wide and standing up to 0.3m high and the interior of the structure measures
2m long by 1.5m wide. The doorway faces east and is defined by a gap in the
rubble bank. The monument lies in close proximity to a number of contemporary
settlements, a hillfort and a coaxial field system.

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.

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.

The enclosure and stone hut circle 80m north of White Tor hillfort survive
comparatively well and form part of a scattered group of at least seven
enclosed settlements situated on the slopes of White Tor. It lies on the edge
of a well preserved coaxial field system and close to the important hillfort
on the summit of White Tor. Both the hut circle and enclosure contain
archaeological remains and environmental evidence relating to the monument and
the landscape in which it was constructed and, as such, provide a valuable
source of information concerning the nature of Bronze Age occupation and land
use on the west side of the Moor.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Butler, J, Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities, (1991)
Other
Gibson, A, Single Monument Class Description - Stone Hut Circles, (1987)
National Archaeological Record, SX57NW3,

Source: Historic England