Details

This monument includes an irregular shaped enclosure containing six stone hut
circles situated on a gentle south-facing slope overlooking the valley of the
River Meavy. The interior of the enclosure measures 32m north to south by 70m
east to west and is defined by a lynchet, up to 2.5m wide and 0.4m high, on
all sides except the north-east where it survives as a buried feature. A 65m
long, 3m wide and 0.2m high field boundary leads southward from the enclosure,
and forms part of a field system which now survives largely as buried
features and cannot be mapped.
The six stone hut circles, all of which are attached to the enclosure
boundary, are composed of stone and earth banks surrounding a circular
internal area. The internal diameter of the huts varies between 4.2m and 9.5m
with the average being 6.6m. The height of the surrounding wall varies between
0.2m and 0.8m with the average being 0.6m.
Two of the huts include two rooms and two have visible doorways.
The field system to the south of the settlement is not included in the
scheduling because its character and extent are not known.

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 stone hut circle settlement 400m south-west of Devil's Bridge
survives well within an area containing a large variety of archaeological
monuments. The settlement contains archaeological remains and environmental
evidence relating to the monument, the economy of its inhabitants and the
landscape in which they lived and, as such, provides a valuable insight into
the nature of Bronze Age occupation on the west side of the Moor. The deep
peat deposits within the area have protected the underlying archaeological
remains as well as being a source of important environmental information.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
Devon County Sites and Monuments Register, SX57SE12,
Devon County Sites and Monuments Register, SX57SE12.1,
Devon County Sites and Monuments Register, SX57SE12.2,
Devon County Sites and Monuments Register, SX57SE12.3,
Gibson, A, Single Monument Class Description - Stone Hut Circles, (1987)
MPP fieldwork by S. Gerrard,
MPP fieldwork S. Gerrard,

Source: Historic England