Details

The monument includes an unenclosed hut circle settlement situated on level
moorland on the north edge of the North York Moors. The settlement has a
single hut circle visible as a horse shoe shaped earthen bank surrounding an
area 9.6m by 5.4m orientated north west to south east. The bank is 1.3m wide
and stands up to 0.3m high, with a break 5m across at the north west end. The
bank is surrounded by a ditch 1m wide and up to 0.3m deep.
The settlement lies in an area rich in prehistoric monuments, including ritual
and funerary monuments as well as other late prehistoric settlement sites.

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

The North York Moors is an area which has an abundance of prehistoric remains,
particularly within moorland landscapes where they have not been disturbed by
more recent agricultural activity. These provide evidence for the widespread
exploitation of these uplands throughout prehistory. Many remains date from
the Bronze Age (c. 2000-700 BC) and relate to diverse activities, funerary
and ritual practice, as well as agriculture and settlement. For the first
millennium BC the range of evidence is more restricted. Settlement at this
time was concentrated in the lowland areas surrounding the moors, although
some settlement was located on the periphery and in the valleys. These late
prehistoric settlement sites on the higher ground are of two types: those
consisting of a small number of unenclosed hut circles and those found within
small square or sub-rectangular enclosures.
Hut circle settlements were the dwelling places of prehistoric farmers. The
hut circles take a variety of forms. Some are stone based and are visible as
low walls or banks enclosing a circular floor area. Others were timber
constructions and only the shallow groove in which the timber uprights used in
the wall construction stood can now be identified; this may survive as a
slight earthwork feature or may be visible on aerial photographs. Some can
only be identified by the artificial earthwork platforms created as level
stances for the houses. The number of houses in a settlement varies between
one and twelve. In areas where they were constructed on hillslopes the
platforms on which the houses stood are commonly arrayed in tiers along the
contour of the slope. Several settlements have been shown to be associated
with organised field plots, the fields being defined by low stony banks or
indicated by groups of clearance cairns.
Some unenclosed settlements are thought to date from the Bronze Age, but
excavation suggests that there are also some which were occupied during the
Iron Age to the Romano-British period (c.700 BC-AD 400). These settlements
provide an important complement to the various types of enclosed and defended
settlements which were being constructed and used around the same time. The
longevity of use of hut circle settlements 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 settlement on Waupley Moor, 800m south west of Clay Hall Farm
is in a good state of preservation. The archaeological deposits survive intact
and significant information about the date and form of construction will be
preserved. Important evidence for the nature and duration of the occupation
will survive within the internal floor area. Evidence for earlier land use and
the contemporary environment and economy will also survive beneath the bank
and within the ditch. The settlement is situated in an area which includes
other late prehistoric settlements as well as earlier monuments. Monument
groupings such as these offer important scope for the study of the
distribution and development through time of prehistoric activity across the
landscape.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Spratt, D A , 'Prehistoric and Roman Archaeology in North East Yorkshire' in Prehistoric and Roman Archaeology of North East Yorkshire, , Vol. 87, (1993)
Other
C7211/1-4,

Source: Historic England