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Summary

Eastern of two hut circles within prehistoric settlement to the north of Piles Copse

Location

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument 1012765: Unenclosed stone hut settlement with enclosures north of Piles Copse
• Scheduled Monument 1012765: Unenclosed stone hut settlement with enclosures north of Piles Copse

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: SX66SW46
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX66SW/15
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX66SW/151
• Old SAM County Ref: 813
• Old SAM Ref: 10521
• Old SAM Ref: 10521
• Pastscape: 442312

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• HUT CIRCLE (Constructed, Bronze Age - 2200 BC to 701 BC (Between))

Full description

Ordnance Survey, 1880-1899, First Edition Ordnance 25 inch map (Cartographic). SDV336179.

Group of 'Hut Circles' shown on 19th century map.

Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, 1977, SX66SW46, SX66SW46 (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV173533.

(20/12/1977) An enclosed settlement on the south slopes of Harford Moor adjacent and parallel to the River Erme.
In the relatively empty south half of the enclosure are two huts, of 2.5 metres and 3.5 metres internal diameter with single slab construction and external coursed or piled walling 2.0 metres wide and 0.5 metres high. One is built into (or more probably originally onto) the enclosure wall.

Hankin, C. F., 1977-1979, Harford Parish Checklist (Worksheet). SDV149931.

Site visited in July 1977 and 24th April 1978. About 70 metres east of the River Erme on ground rising steeply to the east. There are several clitters on the hillside, and the stony nature of the ground makes the site difficult to interpret. An enclosure of indeterminate shape, circa 25-30 metres wide north-south.

Price, D. G., 1981, A Settlement Site on Harford Moor, 53-57, Figure 1 (Article in Serial). SDV165868.

Settlement on a steep valley side with thin soil cover. Two groups of huts, one with 10 and one with 21 huts, within 150 metres of each other, forming one settlement. The group of 10 has a ring cairn associated with it and another possibly ritual monument. The other group is divided into two elements, with 15 huts and two rectangular structures on the slope, and the remainder on a ledge. The presence of rectangular structures and the trace of a track suggest that the site was used in medieval times, or later, in connection with tinning. The settlement is surprisingly large for a difficult site and could not have been occupied primarily for agricultural purposes because of the difficulty of the position and competition for grazing land. Suggested that external source of subsistence was to offer tin in exchange. Because of the later medieval presence it is hard to establish the existence of a Bronze Age tin industry.

Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England, 1985, Aerial Photograph Project (Dartmoor) - Dartmoor Pre-NMP (Cartographic). SDV319854.

Eight hut circles are visible on aerial photographs (five attached) and two small enclosures.

Butler, J., 1993, Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities: Volume Four - The South-East, 48-50, Map 54, Figure 54.9 (Monograph). SDV337765.

'Three Barrows West 2'. Settlement sited between a substantial outcrop and a steep fall to the River Erme. Hut Circle '4' of 3.5 metres diameter is the eastern of two hut circles in the southern part of the settlement.

Newman, P., 2018, Erme Valley Survey data (GIS and Excel spreadsheet) (Cartographic). SDV361913.

Settlement shown on survey.

Newman, P., 2018, The Upper Erme Valley, Dartmoor National Park, Devon: An Archaeological Survey, Appendix 1 - MDV 19978 (Report - Survey). SDV362921.

A prehistoric enclosure on the eastern lower slopes of the River Erme, 300 metres north of Piles Copse. Two adjacent hut circles are built into the walls of the southernmost enclosure. Both are poorly preserved, though they contain some in-situ boulders, and have approximate internal diameters of 4 metres.

Ordnance Survey, 2020, MasterMap 2020 (Cartographic). SDV363413.

Settlement shown on modern mapping.

Historic England, 2020, National Heritage List for England, 1012765 (National Heritage List for England). SDV363414.

This unenclosed stone hut settlement on the steep eastern slope of the Erme Valley, consists of twenty-two hut circles, with enclosures and lengths of bank. The huts are terraced into the hillside and lie in two main groups, ranging in size from 5 to 11 metres with walls up to 3 metres thick and 1 metre high, there are small enclosures and sections of wall or bank associated with the huts.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV8082 - Survey of the Upper Erme Valley

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