Details

The monument includes two stone hut circles situated on a gentle east
facing slope overlooking the valley of the North Teign River. The northern
stone hut circle survives as a 1.7m wide and 0.45m high rubble bank
surrounding a circular internal area measuring 3.7m in diameter. A SSE facing
gap in the bank may represent a doorway. The interior of the southern hut
measures 4.2m in diameter and its rubble wall is 1.7m wide and up to 0.5m
high. A south east facing gap denoted by a leaning orthostat represents an
original doorway.

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. Stone hut circles and hut settlements
were the dwelling places of prehistoric farmers on Dartmoor. They mostly date
from the Bronze Age, with the earliest examples on the Moor in this building
tradition dating to about 1700 BC. The stone-based round houses consist of low
walls or banks enclosing a circular floor area; 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 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 850m WSW of the confluence of Gallaven Brook and
Walla Brook,1045m north east of the Thirlstone survive well and form part of a
group of at least six similar settlements overlooking a substantial natural
basin formed by the North Teign River, the Gallaven Brook and Walla Brook.
Together, this group of settlements represent an important insight into this
particular form of relatively rare prehistoric settlement.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
MPP Fieldwork by S. Gerrard, Gerrard, S., (1999)

Source: Historic England