Details

This monument includes an oval enclosure and seven stone hut circles situated
on a gentle west facing slope of Raddick Hill overlooking the valley of the
River Meavy. The enclosure measures 100m long by 80m wide and is defined by a
rubble wall. This has an average width of 2m and stands to 0.6m high, except
on the western downslope side where a lynchet standing up to 1m high denotes
its position. Six of the stone hut circles lie within the enclosure and the
seventh lies immediately outside to the north west. The stone hut circles are
composed of stone and earth banks surrounding a circular internal area. The
internal diameter of the huts varies between 3.2m and 7.4m with the average
being 5.2m. The height of the surrounding wall varies between 0.4m and 0.9m
with the average being 0.58m.
Two stone hut circles and a boundary bank lie to the north of this monument
and are the subject of a separate scheduling.

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 enclosed settlement 400m west of Raddick Hill summit survives well within
an area containing a large variety of important archaeological monuments. The
settlement contains archaeological remains and 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. The lower part of the enclosure is
water-logged and therefore probably contains particularly well-preserved
environmental deposits.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
Devon County Sites and Monuments Register, SX57SE15,
Gibson, A, Single Monument Class Description - Stone Hut Circles, (1987)
MPP fieldwork by S. Gerrard,
National Archaeological Record, SX57SE37,

Source: Historic England