Details

The monument includes one of five stone hut circles which form a hut circle
settlement incorporated within a broadly contemporary irregular field system
on the upper western slope of the Carkeet Downs bordering the River Fowey
valley on south-east Bodmin Moor.
The overall hut circle settlement includes five stone hut circles arranged in
a `Y-shaped' pattern over 0.3 hectares of the western slope of the Downs. This
monument, the north-western hut circle of the settlement and the lowest on the
slope, is separated by a 31m wide area of modern improved pasture and a sunken
farm track from the other four hut circles and the walls of the settlement's
incorporating field system, which form the subject of a separate scheduling.
The hut circle survives with a slightly ovoid wall of heaped rubble and small
boulders, up to 1.6m wide and 0.7m high, defining an internal area measuring
7.5m north-south by 6m east-west, levelled into the hillslope. The wall has
edge-set inner facing slabs and blocks, up to 0.8m high, forming contiguous
rows in places; similarly contiguous rows of outer facing slabs and small
boulders rise to 0.6m high. The wall has an entrance gap, 1m wide, facing SSW.
The entrance is flanked on its west side by a large edge-set slab, 0.5m high,
set transversely across the wall, and on its east side by two smaller slabs,
formerly set on edge transversely to the wall but now fallen into the base of
the entrance gap.
The settlement of which this hut circle is part is enclosed within the
northern of two broadly contemporary adjoining field plots which have survived
from the upper edge of a prehistoric field system whose former extent
downslope and north of the monument has been destroyed by modern pasture
improvement. Beyond this monument, from 240m further south along the hillside,
is a broadly contemporary regular aggregate field system incorporating a stone
hut circle, while a group of three broadly contemporary funerary cairns is
located on the broad summit of the Carkeet Downs, from 260m to the east.

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 stone hut circle on the Carkeet Downs has survived well, displaying
clearly an unusually good range of architectural details. The broadly
contemporary physical and economic context of this hut circle is demonstrated
by the survival nearby of other hut circles in the same settlement and of the
prehistoric field system that encompassed the settlement, despite the latter
being much truncated downslope by modern pasture improvement. The nearby
prehistoric regular aggregate field system places this monument in its wider
context of prehistoric land allotment and demonstrates well the nature of
farming practices among prehistoric communities. The proximity of the monument
to the cairn group about the summit of the Carkeet Downs shows well the wider
relationship between settlement and ritual activity during the Bronze Age.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
consulted 1993, Carter, A./Fletcher, M.J./RCHME, 1:2500 AP plot and field trace for SX 2272,
consulted 1993, Cornwall SMR entry for PRN 1257.04,

Source: Historic England