Details

The monument includes two adjacent stone hut circles situated close to the
north-east edge of Twelve Men's Moor on eastern Bodmin Moor, near other
broadly contemporary hut circle settlements, hut circles and field systems on
Twelve Men's Moor and the Hawkstor Downs.
The hut circles are situated 7m apart on a north-south axis. The northern
hut circle survives with a wall of heaped rubble, up to 2m wide and 0.3m high,
defining a circular internal area 6m in diameter and levelled into the
hillslope. A 3.5m wide break in the wall's south-eastern circuit contains the
hut circle entrance but this has been enlarged by relatively recent stone-
robbing. The southern hut circle survives with similar rubble walling, up to
1.5m wide and 0.15m high, around a levelled internal area 4.5m in diameter. A
1.75m wide break in the wall's south-eastern sector marks the entrance.
This monument forms one of at least six small groups of hut circles dispersed
along the contour from the south-east slope of Hawks Tor to the saddle between
Trewortha and Kilmar Tors on Twelve Men's Moor. These hut circles are located
close to two larger unenclosed hut circle settlements, one on Twelve Men's
Moor from 85m south-west of this monument, the other on Hawks Tor with an
associated field system, from 500m to the north-east. Over a dozen broadly
contemporary funerary cairns, several with burial cists, are also located on
Twelve Men's Moor, one of which is situated 122m south of this monument.

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 pair of stone hut circles on Twelve Men's Moor have survived reasonably
well, displaying clearly their mode of construction and plan despite limited
stone-robbing. The proximity of these hut circles to other similar small
groups of hut circles and to the larger hut circle settlements on Twelve Men's
Moor and the Hawkstor Downs demonstrates well the nature and diversity of the
settlement pattern during the Bronze Age.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
consulted 6/1992, Carter, A./RCHME, 1:2500 AP transcriptions for SX 2475; SX 2575 & SX 2576,
Consulted 6/1992, Cornwall SMR entry for PRN 1014.23,
Cornwall SMR entry for PRN 1014.24,

Source: Historic England