Grimspound

The best known of many Dartmoor prehistoric settlements, Grimspound dates from the late Bronze Age. The remains of 24 houses enclosed within a stone wall, and further houses outside the enclosure, lie in a fold in the hills about 450 metres (1,500 feet) above sea level, between Hookney and Hameldown tors.

The remains of the characteristic round houses (also known as hut circles) in which people lived can still be seen – sometimes standing on their own, like isolated cottages today; sometimes, as here, grouped together in sizeable villages. Such settlements are a defining feature of the Dartmoor landscape.

We do not know precisely how long Grimspound was in use, but by about 1200 bc the settlement pattern was changing. The thin moorland soils appear to have deteriorated very quickly and it also seems that there was a change in the climate. Heavy rainfall reduced the fertility of the Dartmoor soil, so that it could not sustain the same level of occupation.

Excavations

Grimspound was excavated at the end of the 19th century by the newly formed Dartmoor Exploration Committee.

They excavated 16 of the houses and found numerous structures and artefacts, including porches, paved floors, hearths, raised benches, cooking holes, charcoal, pottery and flint. However, no organic matter which might date the site was recovered. The excavators restored parts of the perimeter wall and some of the hut circles, although not very accurately.