Details

This monument includes a stone hut circle lying on a south-facing slope
overlooking the valley of the River Tavy. The hut is terraced into the
hillside and is composed of a stone and earth bank surrounding a circular
internal area. The interior of the building measures 2.2m in diameter and the
1.5m wide wall stands up to 0.5m high. The doorway faces west and is lined on
both sides with slabs.

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 stone hut circle 630m north-east of Ger Tor survives comparatively well
and lies within a large expanse of blanket peat which contains important
environmental information. Archaeological structures, features and deposits
still survive at this site and will provide a valuable insight into the
economy of the site's inhabitants and the landscape in which they lived. Hut
circles with small internal diameters are relatively rare on Dartmoor.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
Gibson, A, Single Monument Class Description - Stone Hut Circles, (1987)
MPP fieldwork by S. Gerrard,

Source: Historic England