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Summary

Four very faint hut circles and traces of enclosure walls on the lower western slope of Mistor. Hut floors do not appear to have been levelled and all are heavily covered by turf. Recorded in 1979 as six or seven huts, but 2004 and 2018 survey has mapped only four.

Location

Protected Status

• SHINE: Walling remainsof a Bronze Age unenclosed hut circle settlement east of Grimstone Head Weir, consisting of at least four huts

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: SX57NE46
• National Record of the Historic Environment: 439703
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX57NE/52
• SHINE Candidate (Yes)

Monument Type(s) and Dates

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

Full description

National Monument Record, 1979, SF1510, 427-8, 187-189 (Aerial Photograph). SDV224088.

Three hut circles visible on air photographs at approximately SX 554772.

Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, 1979, SX57NE46, 23/10/1979 (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV235833.

An open settlement of 6 or 7 hut circles centred at SX 55577728, on a gentle west slope above the River Walkham.
All are of Type 1 (SX 56 SE 19) with simple rubble walling, or single blocks supplemented by an outer facing of rubble, generally 1.0 metres wide and 0.3 metres high. Internal diameters range from 2.8 metres to 4.8 metres with entrance gaps on the north west in 3 huts (B, C, & D; see illustration) and on the south west is one hut (A). A possible hut (E) at the north east of the settlement is 5.0 metres in diameter and formed by massive in situ boulders 0.3 metres high, linked by rubble and with a rickle of field wall on the east side.
Very little of a field system is visible, probably as a result of hillwash and only one poorly defined length of walling is visible at the north end of the area, and this consists of single stones and rubble protruding for 0.1 metres to 0.2 metres. Elsewhere the impression is that of slightly levelled areas or plots but these are only visible from the lower west side occupying some 4.0 hectares.
Settlement surveyed at 1:10 000 on MSD and at 1:1000.

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

Not visible on aerial photographs.

Butler, J., 1991, Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities: Volume Two - The North, 69, Map 30 (Monograph). SDV219155.

Group of five huts on the lower slopes to the west of Great Mis Tor 220 metres from the river on a patch of open ground surrounded by a large area of clitter. The site was partially enclosed by a single line of slabs between two areas of clitter forming an uphill boundary with the rest open towards the river. The huts of 3.0 to 4.5 metres diameter have walls only 0.2 metres high.

Newman, P., 2004, Merrivale Range Baseline Condition Survey (Report - Survey). SDV346874.

(10/08/2004) Only four huts could be found. All consist of very faint remains, heavily covered by turf. The internal diameters are between 3 metres and 4.1 metres and the floors do not appear to have been levelled. Slight remains of enclosure walls survive to the east of the hut. In an area of short grass.

Newman, P., 2018, Archaeological Sites within Merrivale Training Area, Dartmoor National Park, Devon: A condition survey on behalf of Defence Infrastructure Organisation, 11/01/2018 (Report - Survey). SDV361635.

Four very faint hut circles and traces of enclosure walls on the lower western slope of Mistor. Hut floors do not appear to have been levelled and all are heavily covered by turf.

Ordnance Survey, 2018, MasterMap 2018 (Cartographic). SDV360652.

'Settlement' of eight hut circles are depicted on the modern mapping. This mapping appears to have been based on the Ordnance Survey 1979 recording of 6 or 7 faint huts. Modern earthwork survey results from 2004 and 2018 indicates that Mastermap likely to be inaccurate in this instance.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV7441 - Condition survey of the archaeological sites of Merrivale Training Area
• EDV7570 - Condition survey of Merrivale Range training area
• EDV8713 - Merrivale Range: Monument Baseline Condition Survey

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