Details

The monument comprises a small stone hut circle near a field system
and cairn group on the summit plateau of Blacktor Downs in the middle of
Bodmin Moor.
The monument survives as a well-preserved small stone hut circle defined by a
circular stone rubble wall, 1m wide and 0.5m high, faced internally by edge-
and end-set stone slabs, rising to 0.75m high, around a flat internal area
2.5m in diameter and at the same level as the surrounding land. A slight
reduction in the visible wall at the E side may mark the site of an original
entrance.
The hut circle has not been subject to any known disturbance. Although
relatively isolated from other similar settlement sites, it lies immediately
above a broadly contemporary field system to the SW, which in turn is
associated with the large and well-preserved hut circle settlement on the S
slope of the Blacktor Downs, and with a cairn group on the summit plateau to
the E of this hut circle.

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
quality and diversity of the evidence is such that the moor has become the
subject of detailed archaeological survey and hence it forms one of the best
recorded upland landscapes in England. Of particular note are the extensive
relict landscapes of Prehistoric, medieval and post-medieval date. Together
these 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 and hut settlements were the dwelling places of Prehistoric
farmers on Bodmin Moor. They mostly date from the Bronze Age (c.2500-700 BC).
The stone-based round houses consist of low walls or banks enclosing a
circular floor area; the 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
provides 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. This hut circle on Blacktor
Downs, whose size and topographical position is typical of a
seasonally-occupied Prehistoric herder's hut, is well preserved and has a
close spatial and broadly contemporary relationship with the large, well-
preserved hut circle settlement and associated field system on the S and SW
slopes of the Blacktor Downs, and with the Bronze Age cairn group close by on
the summit plateau.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Bradley, R, The Prehistoric Settlement of Britain, (1978), 60-62
Other
consulted 1/1991, Cornwall SMR entry for PRN 1769.5,
Consulted 1991, Carter, A/RCHME, Air Photo Transcription: SX 1573,

Source: Historic England