Ger Tor great enclosure entrance and hut circles

Historic England's scheduling record (list entry 1011237) describes a length of enclosure boundary wall and seven stone hut circles on a south-east-facing slope overlooking the valley of the River Tavy. The boundary is two rubble banks, 1 metre wide and 0.3 metres high, that curve to form a funnelled entrance 50 metres across. This monument covers only the northern edge of the enclosure, which measures 440 metres north to south by 600 metres east to west and is bounded on the east by a small stream, on the south by the Tavy and on the west by a rubble wall. The shape and direction of the entrance suggest it was built to hold livestock driven down from the higher moor, and its size reflects the need for a great deal of grazing. It lies in the parish of Peter Tavy, about 0.3 km north-east of Ger Tor.

Many of the huts in the enclosure lie in separate clusters near the northern boundary. The seven here sit in the entrance area, which would have been the focus of activity. Six are circular, 3.5 to 6 metres across inside, averaging 4.5 metres, and one is oval, 2 by 1.5 metres. The walls are 0.3 to 0.7 metres high. One hut has an annex, five have visible doorways, one an internal partition, one a bench, and three are attached to boundary walls.

The Dartmoor Exploration Committee excavated four of the huts in 1893. Hearths were found in two, a partition wall in another, and two were partly paved with large slabs.

Sources: Historic England list entry 1011237, which cites Butler, Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities (1991), pages 100 to 101, Baring-Gould, 'Hut Circles at Tavy Cleave' (Devonshire Association Transactions, vol 26, 1894), pages 197 to 198, Gibson, Single Monument Class Description: Stone Hut Circles (1987), the Devon County Sites and Monuments Register (SX58SE19) and fieldwork for the Monuments Protection Programme by S. Gerrard.

• Period: Bronze Age
• Status: Scheduled monument (Historic England list entry 1011237)
• Grid reference: SX 5483 8335 (approximate, from the listing's coordinates)