Details

This monument includes an enclosure and stone hut circle situated on a
south east facing slope overlooking the valley of Ford Brook and forms part of
a settlement including at least 13 stone hut circles and three enclosures. The
interior of the enclosure measures 50m north to south by 43m east to west and
is defined by a partly faced 2m wide and 0.6m high rubble wall. A gap in the
southern length of the boundary wall may represent an original entrance. A 4m
diameter ring of stones protruding through the turf on the western side of
this gap represents a stone hut circle. An L-shaped rubble bank measuring 7m
long east to west and 4m long north to south, 1.8m wide and 0.7m high, lies
within the northern half of the enclosure. No positive identification of this
feature was possible.
Stone hut circles and enclosures lying to the north of this monument are the
subjects of separate schedulings.

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. 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.

The enclosure 740m south east of Penn Beacon survives comparatively well,
forms part of a larger settlement and contains archaeological remains and
environmental evidence relating to the monument, the economy of its
inhabitants and the landscape in which they lived. As such, it provides a
valuable insight into the nature of Bronze Age occupation on the south side of
the Moor.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
Devon County Sites and Monuments Register, SX66SW38,
MPP fieldwork by S. Gerrard,

Source: Historic England