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Summary

A small prehistoric enclosure with one external hut circle located on the eastern slopes of Erme Plains, 170 metres east of the River Erme. Part of a settlement containing one other enclosure and six hut circles (MDV4242; 4318; 4319; 4320). The low, turf covered stony bank of the perimeter is spread up to 2.5 metres but stands to less than 0.5 metres high. It has an approximately rectangular outline with heavily rounded corners covering an area of 0.04 hectares. The walls are only just visible on the southern side, where it is becoming overwhelmed by the peat. A ruinous hut circle is attached to the northern corner. The remaining walls consist of a turf covered earth and stone bank, up to 0.5 metres high, faced on the inside with granite blocks, some of which survive in situ. The internal diameter is just under 8 metres. An opening in the hut wall on the eastern side adjacent to the enclosure wall was the probable entrance. The vegetation covering of Molinia Grass was very dense at the time of survey (May 2018) with parts of the site difficult to define.

Location

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument 1002606: Enclosure and hut circles on Erme Plains E of River Erme

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: SX66SW5
• National Record of the Historic Environment: 442171
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX66SW/69
• Old SAM County Ref: 807

Monument Type(s) and Dates

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

Full description

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

Sub-rectangular enclosure with hut circle attached to the northern corner and three unenclosed hut circles to the west.

National Monuments Record, 1976, NMR SX6364, 2 (Aerial Photograph). SDV155390.

Photograph taken on 22nd April 1976.

Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, 1977, SX66SW5 (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV152514.

(09/08/1977) Centred SX 63856471. This open settlement consisting of 4 hut circles and the remains of an enclosure, lies on a gentle, poorly drained, southwest facing slope at 370m above OD. The sub-circular enclosure, diameter about 30m, is incomplete and has double-faced walling, 1.2m wide in very poor condition. A hut circle of indeterminate type internal diameter 7.0m with walling 1.7m wide, a south east entrance and very mutilated, is built on to the outside of the enclosure. The 3 freestanding, terraced type II hut circles have internal diameters of 6.7m, 6.5m, and 3.8m and double-faced walls, 1.5m wide, two have southeast facing entrances.
(Type 2 huts: SX 56 NE 71)
1:10 000 survey revised on MSD.

Hankin, C. F., 1977-1980, Harford Parish Checklist (Worksheet). SDV149931.

Site visited on 7th March 1978. Erme Plains, east of River Erme. About 300 metres south of Stony Bottom (Hook Lake) and 140 metres east of the River Erme. The remains of an enclosure and an associated group of hut circles. The enclosure: only part of the north wall and part of the east wall remain as walls. Single stones to the south suggest a diameter of 27 metres, but the shape cannot be discerned. The remains of the wall do not rise above circa 0.2 metres high. At the north east corner and outside the enclosure there is a kind of 'court', with scattered stones in strongly built walls partly clear of overgrowth and with a height of up to 0.75 metres. A possible entrance in the north against the enclosure wall. A hut group is south west of the enclosure.

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

Enclosure visible with one hut circle incorporated into its wall. Three other freestanding hut circles are visible to the south-west.

Butler, J., 1993, Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities: Volume Four - The South-East, 68, Map 55, Figure 55.2 (Monograph). SDV337765.

Southern prehistoric enclosure (A) at Hook Lake South with an attached hut circle (1) of circa 7 metres diameter to the north. This hut circle which is open to the exterior of the enclosure has been dug into and loosely repaired

Bluesky International Ltd/Getmapping PLC, 2015-2017, 2015-2017 Aerial Photographs (Aerial Photograph). SDV361462.

Part of enclosure visible on aerial photograph.

Newman, P., 2018, Erme Valley Survey data (GIS and Excel spreadsheet), Figure 14 (Cartographic). SDV361913.

Sub-circular enclosure shown on survey with an attached hut circle on the north-east side.

Newman, P., 2018, The Upper Erme Valley, Dartmoor National Park, Devon: An Archaeological Survey, Appendix 1, Figure 14 (Report - Survey). SDV362921.

A small prehistoric enclosure with one external hut circle located on the eastern slopes of Erme Plains, 170 metres east of the River Erme. Part of a settlement containing one other enclosure and six hut circles (MDV4242; 4318; 4319; 4320). The low, turf covered stony bank of the perimeter is spread up to 2.5 metres but stands to less than 0.5 metres high. It has an approximately rectangular outline with heavily rounded corners covering an area of 0.04 hectares. The walls are only just visible on the southern side, where it is becoming overwhelmed by the peat. A ruinous hut circle is attached to the northern corner. The remaining walls consist of a turf covered earth and stone bank, up to 0.5 metres high, faced on the inside with granite blocks, some of which survive in situ. The internal diameter is just under 8 metres. An opening in the hut wall on the eastern side adjacent to the enclosure wall was the probable entrance. The vegetation covering of Molinia Grass was very dense at the time of survey (May 2018) with parts of the site difficult to define.

Various, 2018-2020, PALs Condition Recording forms, UE-21 (Worksheet). SDV362781.

(13/03/2019) Recorded by volunteer condition assessor. Condition assessed as poor. This monument has almost entirely been subsumed by peat and molinia. It is difficult to see and only a few small areas of the stony banks now remain uncovered. It can be traced in the landscape by recognising the hard lines of the banks have slightly raised vegetation and are firmer underfoot than the land either side.

Various, 2018-2020, PALs Condition Recording photographs (Photograph). SDV363073.

Photographs taken in March 2019.

Ordnance Survey, 2019, MasterMap 2019 (Cartographic). SDV362729.

'Settlement' shown on modern mapping as a sub-circular enclosure with a hut circle to the north and three more to the west.

Historic England, 2019, National Heritage List for England, 1002606 (National Heritage List for England). SDV362730.

The monument includes part of a stone hut circle settlement situated on the Erme Plains at the foot of Quickbeam Hill to the east of the River Erme. The settlement survives as a group of four stone hut circles which vary in size from 4 metres up to 7 metres in diameter internally and are defined by rubble built walls measuring up to 2 metres wide and 0.4 metres high and a single enclosure. Three of the stone hut circles are freestanding and to the north-east the largest hut circle of the group is attached to the outside of an irregular shaped low walled enclosure. This hut appears to have been repaired and re-used subsequently. Where visible the entrances to the hut circles predominantly face to the south east. The whole settlement has been subject to peat accumulation.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV8082 - Survey of the Upper Erme Valley

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