Details

The monument, which falls into three seperate areas of protection, includes an
enclosed prehistoric settlement and three round cairns situated on a gentle
east facing slope on Holne Moor overlooking Venford Reservoir. The settlement
includes at least two enclosures, each defined by a rubble bank. The eastern
enclosure is irregular in shape and is denoted by a 2m wide bank standing up
to 0.7m high. Within the northern part of this enclosure are two stone hut
circles which survive as rubble banks each surrounding a circular internal
area measuring 2.3m and 4.5m in diameter. The surrounding walls measure up to
0.6m high and one hut abuts the enclosure wall. A cairn built against the
southern edge of the eastern stone hut circle measures 4.2m in diameter and
stands 0.25m high.
The western enclosure is denoted by a 1.5m wide and 0.3m high bank which
abuts an earlier stone hut circle with an internal diameter of 4.3m. To the
west of this enclosure lie two small cairns. The southern cairn measures 6.5m
in diameter and stands 0.8m high. The northern cairn is 6.7m in diameter and
also stands 0.8m high. Both cairns have hollows in their centre indicating
partial robbing or early excavation.
The monument lies within a later historic field system and, whilst most of
this is not included within the scheduling, a length of boundary ditch
following the western edge of the eastern enclosure does form part of the
monument and survives as a 3m wide gully measuring up to 0.8m deep.

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 enclosed prehistoric settlement and three round cairns 870m south east of
Horn's Cross survive well and contain environmental and archaeological
information for their occupation and use, as well as for funerary and ritual
practices. The settlement forms part of a group lying close to the substantial
Dartmeet coaxial field system and will therefore provide contrasting evidence
to that available from the settlements more directly associated with the
fields.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Butler, J, 'Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities - The North' in Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities, , Vol. 4, (1993), 129
Other
MPP fieldwork by S. Gerrard, Gerrard, S., (2000)

Source: Historic England