Reasons for Designation
Hut circles and hut circle settlements were the dwelling places of prehistoric farmers. Most date from the Bronze Age (c.2000-700 BC). The round-houses consist of walls sometimes of timber posts in-filled with wattle and daub enclosing a circular floor area. The huts may occur singly or in groups and may lie in the open or be enclosed. The longevity of use of hut circle settlements and their relationship with other monument types provides important information on the diversity of social organisation and farming practices amongst prehistoric communities. They are particularly representative of their period. Rounds are small embanked enclosures, one of a range of settlement types dating to between the later Iron Age and the early post-Roman period. Usually circular or oval, they have a single earth and rubble bank and an outer ditch, with one entrance breaking the circuit. Excavations have produced drystone supporting walls within the bank, paved or cobbled entrance ways, post built gate structures, and remains of timber, turf or stone built houses of oval or rectangular plan, often set around the inner edge of the enclosing bank. Other evidence includes hearths, drains, gullies, pits and rubbish middens. Evidence for industrial activities has been recovered from some sites, including small scale metal working and, among the domestic debris, items traded from distant sources. Rounds are viewed primarily as agricultural settlements, the equivalents of farming hamlets. They were replaced by unenclosed settlement types by the 7th century AD. Rounds are confined in England to south west Devon and especially Cornwall. They are important as one of the major sources of information on settlement and social organisation of the Iron Age and Roman periods in south west England. Despite being partially built over and excavated, the hut circle settlement and round called Trevisker Round at Trevisker School have been crucially important in establishing the chronology of Cornish prehistoric ceramics, which has been used as a dating tool for all archaeological sites in the region. The archaeological deposits at Trevisker were deeply buried so further archaeological and environmental evidence concerning all aspects of settlement, social organisation, trade, agricultural practices, domestic arrangements and the overall landscape context will be preserved.
Details
The monument includes a hut circle settlement and round, situated partially beneath and in the grounds surrounding the school at Trevisker. The hut circle settlement and round survive chiefly as buried deposits, structures and surfaces with a small fragment of upstanding rampart. The settlement and round were partially excavated in 1955-6 prior to the building of the school, although only the northern part was examined. Three periods of occupation were revealed. The first was a small agricultural hut circle settlement with two circular timber-built houses, ancillary structures and ditches with a radio-carbon date of between 1700 - 1300 BC. One of the circular houses was replaced by a stone-built rectangular structure with an entrance at the north east end and a large quantity of cassiterite or tin bearing pebbles. There was a wide flat-bottomed ditch to the north and four distinct styles of Cornish Bronze Age pottery were found.
The second settlement was established in the 2nd century BC and included an enclosure containing a single farmstead. This was superseded by a larger enclosure with a V-shaped inner and outer ditches and a rampart with an entrance defined by drystone walling and gateposts. Within the enclosure were up to three circular houses. At least one of the houses was re-occupied during the third settlement phase in the Romano-British period producing a coin of 96-98 AD, and the occupation continued until the 2nd century AD.
The main school building is excluded from the scheduling. Other additional buildings and modern surfaces are excluded from the scheduling but the ground beneath all of these features is included.
Sources: HER:-
PastScape Monument No:-429183
