Details

This monument includes two stone hut circles situated on the northern edge of
an unenclosed stone hut circle settlement, lying on a west facing slope
overlooking Newleycombe Lake. Both stone hut circles are terraced into the
hillside and are composed of stone and earth walls surrounding circular
internal areas. The interior of the northern building measures 6m in diameter
and the 2m wide wall stands up to 0.8m high. The doorway survives as a 1m
wide gap in the surrounding wall, is lined with slabs on the west and faces
south. A 0.6m high and 1.4m wide lynchet links this to the southern hut.
The interior of the southern hut measures 6m in diameter and is defined by a
1.6m wide wall standing up to 0.7m high, except on the west where the edge of
the building is defined by a 0.4m high scarp.
This monument lies within an area which has been extensively mined for tin,
and earthworks associated with this activity survive nearby.

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.

Despite evidence of considerable tin mining within the immediate vicinity, the
two stone hut circles 810m west of Siward's or Nun's Cross survive
comparatively well and contain archaeological remains and environmental
evidence relating to the monument, the economy of the inhabitants and the
landscape in which they lived. As such, the hut circles provide a valuable
insight into the nature of Bronze Age occupation on the south western part of
the Moor. Only two unenclosed stone hut circle settlements survive in the
Newleycombe Lake valley and these huts form part of the eastern settlement.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
Devon County Sites and Monuments Register, SX57SE37,
Gibson, A, Single Monument Class Description - Stone Hut Circles, (1988)
MPP fieldwork by S. Gerrard,

Source: Historic England