Details

The monument comprises a prehistoric enclosed settlement known as Broadun
Ring situated on a south east facing slope overlooking the valley of the
East Dart River. The enclosure survives as an oval shaped area denoted by
a boulder faced wall measuring up to 6m wide and standing up to 1.2m high.
The interior of the enclosure measures 119m north-south by 79m east-west
and contains at least 13 stone hut circles varying between 3.5m and 8.5m
in internal diameter. A gap in the south eastern length of the enclosure
wall may represent an original entrance. Most of the huts within the
enclosure have visible doorways and six are attached to the inner face of
the enclosure. The largest hut within the settlement has a rectangular
platform built within its interior. Some of the huts appear to have been
refurbished, suggesting reuse perhaps in the historic period. Ten of the
huts within the settlement were partially excavated by the Dartmoor
Exploration Committee in 1893 and this work revealed hearthstones,
charcoal, flints and pot boilers.
A small number of pits within the enclosure represent the site of historic
stone splitting activity. A drystone wall leading alongside the inner face
of the western side of the enclosure bank stands up to 1.5m high and
represents a post-medieval field boundary.

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.

Despite later reuse of the enclosure, partial excavation of some of the
stone hut circles and some limited stone splitting activity, the
prehistoric enclosed settlement known as Broadun Ring, 500m north west of
Hartland Tor survives well and will contain archaeological and
environmental information relating to this area during the prehistoric
period. The enclosure has a very substantial bank and contains an
unusually high number of conjoined stone hut circles.
The settlement forms part of a discrete cluster of broadly similar
enclosures.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Butler, J, Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities, (1991), 38-39
Other
MPP Fieldwork by S. Gerrard, Gerrard, S., (2003)

Source: Historic England