Details

The Dartmoor landscape includes many discrete plots of land enclosed by
stone walls or earth and stone banks, which acted as stock pens or
protected areas for crop growing. Some of them were subdivided to
accommodate hut dwellings for farmers and herdsmen. Many examples date to
the Bronze Age (c.2500 to 500 BC), though earlier and later ones also exist.
This is an agglomerated enclosure in the south-east corner of Lower Piles
newtake, on a fairly steep west-facing slope above the River Erme. The site
consists of lengths of walling of Prehistoric date originally forming at
least three enclosures, with lynchets in some places, and enclosing nine
Bronze Age hut circles. Some of the enclosure walls have been added to at
later dates and a double bank of low stones suggests the presence of a
droveway along the northern field boundary. The walls are constructed
of rubble and earth and are about half a metre high, or slightly more where
subsequently refurbished. The hut circles range from 7m to 12m in diameter,
with walls up to 2m thick and 0.5m to 1m high. They are mainly turf-covered
and four are attached to field walls. Clearance heaps and subdivisions
associated with the newtake exist within the site.

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 the later industrial remains, gives significant insights into successive
changes in the pattern of land use through time.
This agglomerated enclosure in Lower Piles newtake is a well-preserved
example incorporating three enclosures with hut circles and a probable
droveway. It provides important insight into farming practices on the Moor
during the Prehistoric period.

Source: Historic England