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Summary

Settlement of a group of up to thirty six Bronze Age hut circles some associated with enclosures on the gentle north and north-east facing slopes of Langridge and the dry valley bottom above the head of Stonetor Brook. This settlement straddles the terminal reave of a large, well preserved parallel reave system which extends east towards Shovel Down

Location

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument 1017874: The North Teign coaxial field system (western part) and associated later remains at Shovel Down, Stonetor Hill and Long Ridge

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: SX68NW21
• National Record of the Historic Environment: 443727
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX68NW/37/16
• Old SAM Ref: 28663
• Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division: SX68NW21

Monument Type(s) and Dates

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

Full description

Royal Air Force, 1947, RAF/CPE/UK/2082, 4352-3 (Aerial Photograph). SDV221887.

(SX 64538520) Hut Circles and Enclosures (NR). Twenty hut-circles visible.

Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, 1951, SX68NW21, Settlement (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV266651.

(1951) The Ordnance Survey recorded 24 huts in the settlement, with remains of enclosure walls. All remains are turf-covered and in a fragile condition. See hut records for details.

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

Royal Commission for the Historical Monuments of England, 1987-1993, Duchy Farms Project Survey Visit, S.Probert (Report - Survey). SDV350839.

(02/05/1990) A group of up to thirty six Bronze Age hut circles some associated with enclosures on the gentle north and north-east facing slopes of Langridge and the dry valley bottom above the head of Stonetor Brook. This settlement straddles the terminal reave of a large, well preserved parallel reave system (SX 68 NW 24) which extends east towards Shovel Down.
The largely ovoid huts form three distinctive groups;
A) Ten huts 1-10 and associated enclosures abutting the terminal reave or situated just inside the reave system.
B) Nineteen huts 11-29 and two cairns (SX 68 NW 54 and 55) together with several small enclosures located immediately outside the reave system.
C) Seven unenclosed huts 30-36 running in a NE-SW line S of the main cluster (RCHME APP, 1985).
A). The diameters of these huts range from 2.7m to 6.8m with the majority lying towards the lower measurement. The hut walls, where apparent, are about 0.9m wide and up to 0.5m high. Possible entrances in huts 2 and 3 are marked by upright slabs while traces of internal facing slabs are visible in huts 1 and 7.
Most huts 1-9 lie on the edge of or within irregular enclosures of between 0.25ha and 0.5ha adjoining the more uniform elements of the parallel reave system. The turf and heather covered boulder walls forming the apparently random enclosures measure 0.8m to 1.2m wide with a maximum height of 0.7m. There are no obvious gateways.
B). The largest concentration of huts lies outside, E, of the reave system with two walls apparently joining the terminal reave. The eighteen huts in this group have diameters between 3.0, and 7.7m, with the majority again trending towards the lower value. Often terraced into the gentle NE slope the huts possess few identifiable features, huts 17, 22 and 24 have traces of entrances while only 11 and 18 have evidence of internal facing. Their associated boulder walls form irregular enclosures of around 0.05ha. Also within this group are a rectangular stance 37 measuring 4.6m N-S by 3.3m E-W and a D-shaped area 38 3.4m NW-SE by 3.7m NE-SW enclosed by crudely placed lines of boulders.
C). These huts have diameters of between 2.8m and 4.3m. All except 35 and 36 are terraced into a SE facing slope with walls remaining to a maximum of 0.8m high on the upslope. Neither entrances or facings are visible. Hut 36 appears to be partially enclosed by a circular turf covered bank 2.0, wide and 0.5m high. It is unclear whether this bank is an original feature of the product of later peat cutting. A short length of low walling 0.3m high lies SW of 36.
Another table of information on the site is held in the NRHE archive.

Gerrard, S., 1990-2002, Monument Protection Programme. Archaeological Item Dataset. (Report - Survey). SDV277946.

MPP 143998-143411 MPP 143414-143438 (1997) Hut circles forming part of settlement at Stonetor Brook Head. 41 huts identified, some of which may duplicate subsheets 1-15:

Butler, J., 1991, Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities: Volume Two - The North, 187-188, 230, Map 37, Figure 37.3 (Monograph). SDV219155.

Stonetor Brookhead settlement at SX645852 with 38 hut circles. Large settlement grouped around the head of the western branch of Stonetor Brook which flows through the 'Stonetor Brookhead settlement'. An axial reave bisects the settlement from north-west to south-east. At the centre a large group of huts are joined by short walls forming irregular shaped paddocks.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV8652 - Langridge Newtake, Duchy Farms Survey
• EDV8409 - Dartmoor Royal Forest Project

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