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Summary

Settlement site adjacent to the Wheal Emma Leat, south of the Swincombe Intake with hut circles and the remains of associated fields. This site is on the local list of Nationally Important Dartmoor sites.

Location

Protected Status

• SHINE: Bronze Age settlement comprising two hut circles and the remains of associated enclosures and fields

Other References/Statuses

• Dartmoor Non-designated Heritage Asset (Historical): NI Site
• National Monuments Record: SX67SW56
• National Record of the Historic Environment: 443405
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX67SW/80
• Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division: SX67SW56

Monument Type(s) and Dates

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

Full description

Fox, A., 1969, Swincombe Survey, 6 (Report - Survey). SDV250998.

A small hut circle, 20 feet (6.1 metres) in diameter, the remains of a field 251 by 80 feet (76.5 by 24.4 metres) and indications of two others were noted at this settlement site. This is the uppermost prehistoric settlement in the valley, at 1050 feet above sea level.

Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, 1970/1977, SX67SW56 (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV266211.

(28/08/1970) SX 631716. One good hut circle identified, with another possible hut circle and the remains of two or three associated fields.
(15/08/1977) On a north-west facing slope at SX 63257161, above the River Swincombe at 325.0 m OD are two huts circles of type 2.
The western one is in quite good condition, with orthostats in its wall which has a thickness of 1.1 m. The internal diameter is 6.0 m and there is a probable entrance on the south.
The eastern hut is more ruinous. Its internal diameter is 6.0 m and its wall 1.0 m thick. The boundary walls of two large fields can be traced, with the walls being 1.2 m thick, consisting of a single layer of large boulders. There is some evidence of clearance in the fields.
Surveyed at 1:10 000 on PFD.

Ordnance Survey, 1975, OS/75/369, 129-130 (Aerial Photograph). SDV254607.

Nothing visible on air photographs.

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

Fragments of an agglomerated enclosure with two elements and two attached hut circles were noted from the 1947 Royal Air Force aerial photograph.

Butler, J., 1993, Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities: Volume Four - The South-East, 210, Map 62, Figure 62.4 (Monograph). SDV337765.

Swincombe Intake South East. Settlement with single-slabbed circuit walls which are overgrown and have been robbed in the past; possibly to build the nearby field wall. One enclosure with a single hut circle at SX63247161 (6.0 meters in diameter) is almost complete. Further sections of enclosure wall may have been part of another enclosure that included two hut circles (SX63277163 and SX63297162), measuring 3.2 meters and 5.5 meters in diameter respectively.

Royal Commission for the Historical Monuments of England, 1993-1998, Dartmoor Royal Forest Project, S. Probert (Report - Survey). SDV346608.

(16/06/1995) Three hut circles and field system. The hut circles and field walls are largely as described in 1977 though the inner facing of the eastern hut (at SX 63297173) has been robbed to provide material for a smaller, cruder hut built in its interior. The latter measures 2.0m in internal diameter and is represented by a low turf bank 1.2m wide and 0.25m high. A further hut depicted by Butler at approximately SX 633717 is simply a cluster of stones at a wall junction.

Gerrard, S., 2004, List of Sites Remaining to be Considered for Designation on Dartmoor (Un-published). SDV345444.

This settlement was considered for designation as a Scheduled Ancient Monument during the Monument Protection Programme. The programme ended before the entire list of sites was successfully scheduled so this is included on a local list of Nationally Important Sites.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV8146 - Royal Commission Survey at Down Ridge and Swincombe
• EDV8409 - Dartmoor Royal Forest Project

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