Details

This monument includes a stone hut circle situated on a gentle south-facing
slope overlooking the valley of the River Meavy. The building is terraced
into the hillslope and survives as a stone and earth bank, 1m wide and
standing up to 0.4m high, defining a circular flat internal area measuring
6.6m in diameter. This structure forms an outlying part of a small enclosed
settlement situated immediately to the north. This hut lies within a field
system which 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. 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 380m south-west of Devil's Bridge survives well within an
area containing a large variety of archaeological monuments. The hut 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
Gibson, A, Single Monument Class Description - Stone Hut Circles, (1987)
MPP fieldwork by S. Gerrard,

Source: Historic England