Details

This monument includes two small stone hut circles and a sub-rectangular
enclosure defined by two clearance cairns and lengths of rubble bank, on the
east-facing slope below Cox Tor. The northernmost stone hut circle is
situated at the base of a rock outcrop and survives as a circular structure
with a 2m internal diameter defined by a 1.5m wide rubble bank standing up to
0.3m high. The second stone hut circle has a 2.3m internal diameter and 1.4m
wide rubble walls standing up to 0.4m high. The enclosure lies to the south-
east of these huts, measures 32m by 38m and is defined by a rubble wall 2m
wide and 0.6m high. The north-east and south-east corners of this enclosure
are defined by field clearance cairns. Both cairn mounds measure 5.5m in
diameter and stand up to 0.8m high.

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 two stone hut circles and enclosure 140m east of the Ordnance Survey
triangulation pillar on Cox Tor survive comparatively well and form part of a
scattered group of settlements situated on the slopes of Cox Tor. They lie on
the edge of a coaxial field system and close to an important round cairn
cemetery.
Both the huts and enclosure contain archaeological remains and environmental
evidence relating to the monument and the landscape in which it was
constructed and, as such, provide a valuable source of information concerning
the nature of Bronze Age occupation and land use on the west side of the Moor.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Butler, J, Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities, (1991), 84
Other
Gibson, A, Single Monument Class Description - Stone Hut Circles, (1987)

Source: Historic England