Details

The monument includes an unenclosed settlement of nine stone hut circles, one
of which has a small cairn near its entrance, situated near broadly
contemporary scattered hut circles, cairn groups and field boundaries on the
wide saddle between Trewortha Tor and Kilmar Tor, part of Twelve Men's Moor,
on eastern Bodmin Moor.
The stone hut circles are arranged in a nucleated cluster, 3-22m apart over an
area of 0.5 hectare. The hut circles survive with circular rubble walls up to
2.5m wide and 1m high, around internal areas levelled into the hillslope and
ranging 5-12.5m in diameter. Occasional inner and outer facing slabs are
visible in the walls and entrance gaps, 1.5m wide facing east, survive in four
examples. The large hut circle at the SW edge of the settlement has a marked
thickening of its walls on their approach to the entrance, rising to a width
of 3m and forming the entrance gap into a short corridor between them. This
hut circle and two of the other larger hut circles at the NW and southern
edges of the settlement, each have a ditch outside their walls, 2m wide and
0.6-0.7m deep, and traces of a ditch surround the walls of a fourth hut
circle. In the two of these with visible entrances, a causeway in the ditch
corresponds with the entrance. A small circular cairn, visible as a mound of
heaped rubble 3m in diameter and 0.3m high, is situated 4m NE of the ditch
causeway of the hut circle with thickened entrance walling. A hollow in the
cairn's surface reveals a ground-fast boulder at its centre. The largest hut
circle, near the NE edge of the settlement, contains slight drystone rubble
footings against its SW wall. The footings are 0.5m wide, up to 0.4m high, of
a small circular structure 2.5m in internal diameter. On the NE side of this
circular feature are similar footings of a rectangular structure measuring 2m
by 1.75m internally. These slight structures are typical of medieval tin
miners' shelters and ore caches which occasionally re-use Prehistoric hut
circles.

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

Bodmin Moor, the largest of the Cornish granite uplands, has long been
recognised to have exceptional preservation of archaeological remains. The
Moor has been the subject of detailed archaeological survey and is one of the
best recorded upland landscapes in England. The extensive relict landscapes of
prehistoric, medieval and post-medieval date provide direct evidence for human
exploitation of the Moor from the earliest prehistoric period onwards. The
well-preserved and often visible relationship between settlement sites, field
systems, ceremonial and funerary monuments as well as later industrial remains
provides significant insights into successive changes in the pattern of land
use through time. Stone hut circles were the dwelling places of prehistoric
farmers on the Moor, mostly dating from the Bronze Age (c.2000-700 BC). The
stone-based round houses survive as low walls or banks enclosing a circular
floor area; remains of a turf or thatch roof are not preserved. The huts occur
singly or in small or large groups and may occur in the open or be enclosed by
a bank of earth and stone. Although they are common on the Moor, their
longevity of use and their relationship with other monument types provides
important information on the diversity of social organisation and farming
practices among prehistoric communities. They are particularly representative
of their period and a substantial proportion of surviving examples are
considered worthy of protection.

This unenclosed hut circle settlement on Twelve Men's Moor has survived well
and displays several unusual features, notably the ditches encircling several
hut circle walls and the thickened entrance walling in one hut circle. The
settlement's proximity to other broadly contemporary settlement sites, field
systems and cairn groups demonstrates well the nature of land use during the
Bronze Age.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Fleming, A, The Dartmoor Reaves, (1988)
Other
consulted 9/1991, Carter, A./RCHME, 1:2500 AP transcription for SX 2473,
consulted 9/1991, Carter, A./RCHME, 1:2500 AP transcription for SX 2475,
consulted 9/1991, Carter, A./RCHME, 1:2500 AP transcriptions for SX 2475 & 2575,
consulted 9/1991, Cornwall SMR entries for PRN 1013 & 1173,
consulted 9/1991, Cornwall SMR entry for PRN 1013,
consulted 9/1991, Cornwall SMR entry for PRN 1014,
consulted 9/1991, Cornwall SMR entry for PRN 1014.06,
consulted 9/1991, Cornwall SMR entry for PRN 1014.07, .08, .09, .10, & .14,
consulted 9/1991, Cornwall SMR entry for PRN 1014.18,
consulted 9/1991, Cornwall SMR entry for PRN 1173,
consulted 9/1991, Cornwall SMR entry for PRN 1275,

Source: Historic England