Details

This monument includes an enclosure containing a stone hut circle situated on
a gentle south-facing slope overlooking Burrator Reservoir. The enclosure
survives as a 47m long and 35m wide irregular shaped area defined by a rubble
lynchet measuring 1m wide and 0.3m high on the east and 3m wide by 1.3m high
on the west. The north western boundary is defined by a 1.5m wide and 0.3m
high rubble bank which lies below a 1.5m high post-medieval drystone wall. Two
slight lynchets measuring 1m wide and up to 0.4m high divide the interior of
the enclosure into three distinct areas.
The stone hut circle is composed of a stone and earth bank surrounding a
circular internal area. The interior of the hut measures 5m in diameter and
the surrounding wall is 1.5m wide and stands up to 0.4m high. The doorway
survives as a gap in the surrounding wall and faces south west.
The post-medieval drystone wall lying on top of the north western boundary of
the enclosure is excluded from the scheduling, although the rubble bank below
is included.

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 containing one stone hut circle 460m west of Cross Gate survives
comparatively well and despite reuse of the area during the post-medieval
period, 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 west side of the Moor.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
Devon County Sites and Monuments Register, SX56NE326, (1986)
Gibson, A, Single Monument Class Description - Stone Hut Circles, (1988)
MPP fieldwork by S. Gerrard,
National Archaeological Record, SX56NE181, (1980)

Source: Historic England