One of West Cornwall’s finest antiquarians, J. T. Blight, from the frontispiece to his “Ancient crosses and other antiquities in the west of Cornwall”.
Image credit: J. T. Blight
Sites in Cornwall
Images
William Copeland Borlase, from the info board at the Ballowall barrow.
Image credit: Royal Institution of Cornwall
Looking over Bodmin Moor towards Hawks Tor and Brown Willy.
Articles
Stones of Kernow
A film by Matthew Shaw featuring Men Gurta, Boscawen-Un, Dry Tree Menhir, Castle an Dinas, Carn Euny & The Nine Maidens.
West Penwith; First and Last 14th May
Mr.Hamhead doing a pretty cool job of advertising Bodmin Moor...
An Archaeologist at The Australian National University (ANU) has discovered a prehistoric Bronze-Age barrow, or burial mound, on a hill in Cornwall and is about to start excavating the untouched site which overlooks the English Channel.
The site dates back to around 2,000 BC and was discovered by chance when ANU Archaeologist Dr Catherine Frieman, who was conducting geophysical surveys of a known site outside the village of Looe in Cornwall, was approached by a farmer about a possible site in a neighbouring field.
“He told us about a ‘lump’ on his land and that nobody knew what it was, so he asked us to take a look at it,” said Dr Frieman, who is a Senior Lecturer in the ANU School of Archaeology and Anthropology.
“So we ran our equipment over a 1,600 metre square area and sure enough we found a quite obvious circular ditch – about 15 metres across – with a single entrance pointing south east and a bunch of pits in the middle.
More here: phys.org/news/2018-03-archaeologist-cornish-barrow-site.amp?__twitter_impression=true
Ancient stone monuments may have been used for Mysterious moonlit ceremonies, say archaeologists
The rationale for the headline produces some wonderful one liners .
Did someone actually say ““When we went out to some imaging at night, when the camera flashed we suddenly saw more and more art, which suggested that it was meant to be seen at night and in the moonlight.”
Laughter aside , the important thing is that there are some genuine markings in an area where they are far from common .
David Keys in the Independent article....
New archaeological research is revealing that south-west Britain was the scene of a prehistoric gold rush.
A detailed analysis of some of Western Europe’s most beautiful gold artefacts suggests that Cornwall was a miniature Klondyke in the Early Bronze Age.
Geological estimates now indicate that up to 200 kilos of gold, worth in modern terms almost £5 million, was extracted in the Early Bronze Age from Cornwall and West Devon’s rivers – mainly between the 22nd and 17th centuries BC.
New archaeological and metallurgical research suggests that substantial amounts were exported to Ireland, with smaller quantities probably also going to France. It also suggests that the elites of Stonehenge almost certainly likewise obtained their gold from the south-west peninsula, as may the rulers of north-west Wales, who took to wearing capes made of solid gold.
Continued......
BBC News, 25 May 2014
More than 60 objects have been unearthed by archaeologists during an excavation at Land’s End in Cornwall.
The excavation was prompted after wild rabbits uncovered flint scrapers and arrowheads while burrowing, managers of the attraction said.
A preliminary one-day dig in a one-metre square area uncovered Mesolithic hammers, arrow heads, scrapers and waste from a flint tool-making factory.
The Mesolithic period dates from 10,000 to 4,000BC.
Land’s End said it was to work in partnership with Big Heritage UK over the next few years to carry out further investigations at the site.
“Remains of a prehistoric enclosure have been discovered by archaeologists in Truro, Cornwall.
It is understood the enclosure was built during the early Neolithic period (3800 BC to 3600 BC).
Archaeologists say it was built at the same time as Carn Brea, a tor enclosure near Redruth.
The team will now take samples to verify the date of the enclosure, before re-burying the site, in line with national guidelines.”
Peat bogs reveal only sporadic exploitation of South-west England’s tin deposits in the Bronze Age, suggesting only limited tin mining and bronze production in the area at that time.
From Planet Earth Online:
Britain was a major source of tin in the ancient world but details of how this important commodity was exploited were sketchy at best – until Andy Meharg and colleagues Kevin Edwards and Ed Schofield got stuck into two West Country peat bogs.
Tin has played an important role in the development of human society. Either on its own or mixed with copper to form bronze, it had a place in everything from coins and jewellery to armour and weapons. But unlike copper, tin deposits are extremely rare, and ancient Mediterranean cultures (from the Bronze Age through to Roman times) had to look to the remote Atlantic fringes of Europe for their closest supplies.
South-west Britain was home to the largest European tin deposits, and this mineral wealth must have been a significant source of economic and cultural contact between Britain and mainland Europe. But there is not much evidence, archaeological or historical, for how the tin trade developed.
Around 440BC, the Greek historian Herodotus wrote about tin sources in the ancient world: ‘I cannot speak with certainty, however, about the marginal regions which lie toward the west, in Europe...Nor am I certain of the existence of the Cassiterides Islands, from which we get our tin.’ Pytheas of Massalia (modern Marseilles), who is credited with being the first person to circumnavigate Britain around 300BC, also talked of a tin-bearing island named Mictus within six days’ sail of Britain.
Cornwall, particularly St Michael’s Mount, has long been associated with the ‘tin islands’ – the Cassiterides – to which Herodotus referred, but it’s not much to go on.
In an attempt to add to the body of evidence, myself and colleagues at the University of Aberdeen looked to the peat bogs of the south-west. These bogs have been soaking up atmospheric pollution for centuries and we hoped that pollution would include traces of tin released into the atmosphere from mining and tinworking. The sites we chose – Tor Royal on Dartmoor and Dozmary Pool on Bodmin Moor – are themselves better known as the location for Sherlock Holmes’ encounter with the Hound of the Baskervilles, and the place where King Arthur deposited Excalibur, respectively. More pertinent to our study, though, is that both lie undisturbed in the middle of an ancient tin-mining region, and both are ombrotrophic – they get all their water from rainfall rather than from springs or streams. This is important because it means any minerals they contain must have been deposited from the atmosphere rather than carried from surrounding rocks or soils.
Our approach was based on the fact that minute particles of tin are released when ore is crushed and smelted, and these eventually fall back to the ground or are washed out of the atmosphere by rain. Assuming these particles had accumulated and lain undisturbed in the bogs, analysing the amount of tin at different depths would give us a sequence of tin exploitation, with greater concentrations representing periods of more intense mining and smelting. And because the bogs are made up of organic material, we could radiocarbon date the layers associated with different phases of tin deposition to find out when they had occurred.
Our specialised equipment enabled us to core 4m down through the peat, so we were able to work out a chronology of tin deposition and, by analogy, of tin mining and smelting, going back thousands of years.
This chronology adds so much detail to what we know about this period that it will allow us to rewrite the story of ancient Britain’s trade links with Europe.
Analysis of the Himmelsscheibe, a bronze disk found near Leipzig, Germany, which is inlayed with a gold map of the heavens and dates to around 1600BC, indicates that it contains tin ores from south-west Britain. So British tin was undoubtedly traded to some extent during the Bronze Age, but our findings suggest that production was low.
The cores showed that, at most, there was only sporadic atmospheric deposition of tin into the peat during the Bronze Age, between around 2500 and 800BC, and this pattern continued until early Roman colonisation, around AD100. This confirms what we had already gleaned from archaeological and fragmentary documentary evidence; that there may have been only limited tin mining and bronze production in south-west Britain over this period.
bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-17775009
Dumbed down TV article about project to build a replica Bronze Age boat the the National maritime Museum at Falmouth where you can also see the Nebra Sky Disc.
A Penzance archaeologist and historian has joined with Cornish MP George Eustice in calling for ‘English’ Heritage to be replaced, in Cornwall, with a locally based body.
Craig Weatherhill, author of several books, papers and articles, is exasperated by what he terms: “This arrogant quango’s disgraceful neglect of, and contempt for, Cornwall’s valuable heritage”.
The latest in a series of incidents stems from a site meeting on Aug 6th, by groups concerned with serial damage to the Tregeseal stone circle, St Just, and associated ancient monuments, allegedly by activities imposed upon the moorland by sister quango Natural ‘England’.
“Initially, ‘English’ Heritage did not want to know, “says Mr Weatherhill, “until the Celtic League, an organisation recognised by the United Nations, became involved. The Assistant Inspector of Ancient Monuments, who attended, promised to produce his recommendations within a fortnight. He failed to do so. Frequent enquiries since then have merely produced adjusted promises, the last being for Oct.19. That has come and gone, and still there is nothing. It is nowhere near good enough.
‘English’ Heritage has a long record of turning blind eyes to the damage and destruction of ancient sites in Cornwall, from the Cadbury’s Creme Egg Hunt in 1984, to the utter destruction of numerous sites they are appointed to protect. They ruined the fogous at Carn Euny and Chysauster, and publicly insulted those who spoke out. According to their then Chairman, the latter ‘wasn’t exactly Stonehenge’, which pretty well sums up their whole attitude. Unless it is a site from which they can turn a profit, they simply do not want to know. In fact, they’ve hived off all the guardianship sites they were appointed to manage to people like the National Trust and the Cornwall Heritage Trust – except for those which generate revenue.”
Referring to the original bid that secured World Heritage Site status for Cornish mining, Mr Weatherhill outlined the actions of ‘English’ Heritage to delist and support the demolition of a Grade II star engine house near St Austell. “EH’s case,” he said, “was that the engine house was worthless as it did not contain an engine. This was astonishingly ignorant, and not only effectively placed all but two Cornish engine houses at serious risk, but almost jeopardised the entire WHS bid. Of course, it need hardly be said that the applicant was a major corporation”.
“At Tintagel in 1998,” he added, “news of the discovery of a piece of slate incised with names of 6th century men, including one called Artognou, was suppressed by EH until the start of the peak holiday season. Then they arranged headlines in every major newspaper, claiming proof of King Arthur. Of course, this was total bilge, but EH was far more interested in the gate money than they were giving historical facts. Our heritage deserves much, much better than this.
“In 1988, Penwith Council wrote to EH, concerned that significant monuments in the area had no legal protection. EH assured them that a radical new Scheduling list was in progress, to be complete within 5 years. It never appeared, not to this very day, but EH kept on giving the Council that assurance.” Mr Weatherhill says. “Then, just last year, I came across a document written by Cornwall’s Historic Environment Service in 2008, clearly stating that all Scheduling in West Penwith had been halted in 1987, EH deciding that the new Environmentally Sensitive Area scheme for Penwith would be adequate protection. Of course, it was no such thing. The ESA had no statutory teeth, and only a voluntary take-up. If that wasn’t bad enough, EH had deliberately lied, several times, to the local authority! I know this to be fact, because I was the officer at the Council who wrote the letters.
“EH’s latest piece of blinding arrogance is to see a play about World War II at Pendennis Castle cancelled because of the quango’s crazy insistence that all reference to Nazis and Jews be written out of the script. It’s unbelievable!”
Mr Weatherhill, who became a Bard of the Cornish Gorsedd in 1981 for services to archaeology, claimed he could cite many more cases of ‘English’ Heritage’s neglect and misrepresentation, least of all that which marketed Cornish Celtic heritage as that of a totally unconnected people. “There is a frankly sinister political aspect to EH’s policies”, he claimed.
His call for the disbanding of ‘English’ Heritage and Natural ‘England’ is also economically sensible, he suggests. “If the government is serious about curtailing expenditure,” he says, “then what is the sense in maintaining two tiers of administration in both fields? Get rid of the national bodies, and devolve their powers to local level and local knowledge. We still await signs of Mr Cameron’s much-vaunted ‘localism’, especially on this side of the Amazon*, so here’s a perfect way to kickstart it.”
He added that most Cornish people he had spoken to would be greatly relieved to see the backs of both quangoes.
*This refers to David Cameron’s on-air blunder regarding protests over his proposed transgression of Cornwall’s historic River Tamar border with the statement: “It’s hardly the Amazon, is it?”
Not sure where this site is, except that it is near Lanyon.....
A glimpse into Cornish life 3,500 years ago is on offer next weekend as an archaeological investigation is carried out at one of the county’s most important heritage sites.
The work at the Bronze Age site near Lanyon, north of Penzance, will be undertaken by Cornwall Archaeological Society and Historic Environment Projects, for Cornwall Council.
The site is a roundhouse settlement and field system, which is approximately 3500 years old, with at least 12 roundhouses.
Previous excavation of two of the roundhouses in the 1980s led to the recovery of Middle Bronze Age and Iron Age artefacts and this has recently been confirmed by radiocarbon dating Since the 1980s the site has been covered by dense vegetation, most notably bracken, and the project will provide an important chance to examine the effects of bracken roots on
archaeological sites.
An open day will be held on Saturday 10 September for members of the public to visit the excavations.
The work is being organised through Historic Environment’s Scheduled Monument Management project, and funded jointly by English Heritage, Cornwall Archaeological Society, Cornwall Heritage Trust
falmouthpacket.co.uk/news/9228597.Ancient_site_set_for_excavation/
cornisharchaeology.org.uk/index_htm_files/Rough%20ground%20volumes%20-%20flyer.pdf
Two new books are to be released this month by the Cornwall Historic Enviroment team. One looks at the landscape and archaeology of the West Penwith moors whilst the other may raise a few eyebrows here..its about managing the landscape in the far west. Cows and stones...do they mix?
From Cornish Guardian 3/2/2010:
A Bronze Age hut circle near Lanlivery, on Helman Tor (Cornwall, England), has been revealed by conservationists. Recently, nine volunteers met at the Cornwall Wildlife Trust’s largest nature reserve, which takes in the tor and the surrounding 217 hectares (536 acres), and stripped back gorse to show off the monument.
Mid Cornwall reserves officer, Sean O’Hea said: “This is a really positive thing we are doing for the reserve. By stripping back the gorse, we are encouraging increased plant biodiversity and as a result we will see more butterflies and bird species eventually. The whole tor including the hut circle is a Scheduled Ancient Monument – the tor’s got quite a few features of interest but the gorse makes it difficult to see them.”
The archaeological management of the reserve is being advised by English Heritage with the Historic Environment Service. Helman Tor is a county geological site and the ancient monument makes up part of the remains of a Neolithic hill settlement.
Barbed wire fencing is being erected across West Penwith (around Tregeseal and Nine Maidens/Lanyon areas in particular) with a view to introducing more cattle to areas where prehistoric sites stand.
See the following links:
stonepages.com/news/archives/003108.html
and for pictures (updated regularly):
menantolstudio.freeserve.co.uk/save%20penwith%20moors.htm
There is also a management plan leaflet:
theheathproject.org.uk//content_pdf/en/Managing_Archaeology_booklet1220874208.pdf
Which includes the following statement:
“Paths and tracks which pass over, or
close to, archaeological remains may
present a risk and may need to be
rerouted. Care is needed so that new
routes do not themselves affect sites or
features.”
A collection of rare Bronze Age axe heads discovered in Cornwall has gone on display in Truro after a campaign to keep the relics in the county.
The 3,000-year-old artifacts were found in perfect condition, buried in a clay pot at Mylor near Falmouth during a search using metal detectors.
The collection would have gone to the British Museum but the Royal Cornwall Museum raised about £10,000 to keep it.
The find is believed to be the biggest of its type in Cornwall.
Conservator Laura Ratcliffe said: “All finds like this would normally go to the British Museum, but they were so special we wanted to keep them for Cornwall.
“To get such a large collection in one place is pretty unusual.
“It’s the biggest hoard to come out of Cornwall by a long shot.”
The axe heads, all found in pristine condition, are thought to have been buried on purpose thousands of years ago.
Ms Ratcliffe said: “It could have been for security purposes or ritual, we just don’t know.”
Story from BBC NEWS:
news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/england/cornwall/7828042.stm
Published: 2009/01/14 10:50:45 GMT
© BBC MMIX
Heard about this on local radio...not sure how accessible it is to the general public.
bbc.co.uk/cornwall/content/articles/2008/08/07/marinewatch_hs_coastalerosion_feature.shtml
and this from the Western Morning News 16/08/2008
A WALKER strolling along a beach made an amazing find when he stumbled across the remains of a Bronze Age tribal chieftain protruding from the ground.
The discovery of the middle-aged man’s skeleton and cisk – or burial casket – was made by amateur archaeologist Trevor Renals on Constantine Island, on the North Cornwall coast.
He noticed that fragments of what appeared to be human bone had become exposed owing to coastal erosion.
Experts were so excited by the find that they performed an emergency week-long excavation of the site to extract it in a race against coastal erosion and storms.
The Middle Bronze Age find is thought to be of an important man, possibly a chieftain, and is very unusual because cremation, not burial, was popular in the period and other skeletons are not normally found so well-preserved.
Click here!
Mr Renals said: “I was walking along the coast – it is a particularly rich area for remains – and I was actually looking for flint and there was one area that was particularly eroded from pedestrian access.
“While searching one particular area I found a front tooth and another piece of bone and I looked to see where it had come from.
“I could see from the bit of flint sticking out of the ground that it was actually a stone-lined cisk.
“When I realised it was actually a burial I got in contact with the county archaeologist.”
Mr Renals said he also identified the base of the spine, pelvis and femur.
In a race against time and the elements experts from Cornwall County Council Historic Environments Service and the National Trust began an excavation of the site after it was discovered.
The trust, which owns the land where the skeleton was found, said Constantine Island was once part of the mainland.
A spokesman said: “It is rare because it is a skeleton – they were cremated or the bones didn’t survive.
“As soon as we found out we had to make arrangements for it to be excavated because of the danger of it going into the sea. We knew that storms were coming and we had to get it removed.”
It is believed that the man was from the Middle Bronze Age of about 1380-1100BC and may have been an important member of his community.
The spokesman said: “We think he was probably a middle-aged male.
“We don’t know how tall he would have been because the long bones were fragmented. We know he had quite small teeth for a man.
“Little is known about the man but he may have been of importance to the small community that he would have come from as it appears that special care was taken over his burial.
“To build a cisk and cover him with stones and possibly, turf on top wouldn’t have been done with everyone.”
The cisk and remains are with Cornwall County Council’s historic environments service.
Mr Renals, 42, an ecologist working for the Environment Agency, said he was excited to identify the site and said that walkers on the coastal path had not noticed it – despite sitting on and walking over the ancient casket.
“The cisk was right on a quite popular path and people had been sitting on it and walking over it and not realised they were inches away from an ancient skeleton,” he said.
“I feel very privileged, more than anything. I didn’t just treat it like animal remains. I was very cautious to show him respect.”
Mr Renals, from Wadebridge, North Cornwall, said the man had been buried in a crouching position typical of pagan rituals.
“It’s clearly a pagan burial because it is a north-south alignment which is a pagan alignment
“And the body is looking out west towards the sea.”
Mr Renals added that the site had been excavated just in time as in winter storms would lash the tidal Constantine Island, destroying the site.
My latest issue of the Cornwall Archeological Societys newsletter has a nice feature on the work of the Cornish Ancient Sites Protection Network. cornishancientsites.com/index.html
They have a number of site clearence days coming up througout the year (see website) which I might try to make and are also working to erect boulders at the entrances to sites with engraved phone numbers on them to ring to report vandalism or damage and also info about respecting sites.
Full marks to them!
From:
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cornwall/4219956.stm
Archaeologists face a race against time after the discovery of what are believed to be the remains of a stone age settlement on the A30 in Cornwall.
The Highways Agency allowed the archaeologists access to the site ahead of the dualling next to Goss Moor.
Heavy machinery has already began stripping part of the route, leaving little time for the dig.
They are trying to record all signs of human activity and so far have come across a lot of evidence of mining.
Meanwhile, circular stone structures have been uncovered at Belowda, near Roche.
These ruins include old stream workings, some leats and culverts which may be tied in to more intensive tin workings, and the settlement.
From the Western Morning News, Tuesday June 7th:
The playing fields of Truro College have been excavated to reveal two Iron Age settlements. Finds include fragments of South Western decorated ware dating from 200 – 100 BCE and a “La Tene” Celtic brooch of similar age:
09:30 – 14 October 2004
Evidence of prehistoric activity dating back to the Neolithic era has been discovered on land in Scarcewater, near St Stephen, where work on a china clay tip is to begin shortly. Archaeologists from Cornwall County Council’s Historic Environment Service have been uncovering the early history of the area and will present their findings during an invitation-only open day for interested groups and local schools later this month.
The team is working closely with china clay company Imerys, which is funding the project and assisting with the removal of modern layers from the site.
During the excavations, finds and features have been uncovered which appear to represent four stages of prehistoric activity – Neolithic, early bronze age, middle bronze age and the later bronze/iron ages.
Previous fieldwork carried out by the HES revealed a long history of ceremonial and settlement activity at Scarcewater spanning five millennia.
Senior archaeologist Andy Jones said: “The excavations at Scarcewater are the largest archaeological excavations to be undertaken in the county and are providing a fantastic opportunity to investigate shifting prehistoric settlement patterns over several millennia.”
Imerys community and public relations manager Ivor Bowditch said: “The company is always conscious of its responsibility to preserve or record historic data which unfolds as the industry itself develops.
“Not in all cases can preservation be made due to the nature of the extractive business, but, as in the case of Scarcewater, we were able to fund professional, archaeological work to retrieve important data and record for posterity the finds of such an excavation.”
l Anyone interested can contact Andy Jones from the HES on 01872 323691 or email [email protected]
Extracts from the full article at www.thisiscornwall.co.uk
DELIGHT AS PREHISTORIC BARROW IS WITHDRAWN
JONATHAN CARTER
09:00 – 25 September 2003
A BRONZE Age burial mound which sits on a Cornish hilltop went under the hammer at auction this week, attracting hundreds of potential buyers.
But the 4,000-year-old monument, which has belonged to the family of 1970s’ rock musician Nic Potter for more than half a century, was withdrawn from the sale after bidding failed to reach the reserve price of £20,000.
Afterwards, Mr Potter – who was the bass player for Van Der Graaf Generator – told of his relief that he still owned the 11.5 metres-wide monument on a hilltop between St Ives and Penzance.
“I have been lying awake at night thinking how much I love the barrow,” he said.
“To me it’s a place full of life. I go there for peace and inspiration.”
observer.guardian.co.uk/cash/story/0,6903,1032434,00.html
Budding archaeologists and historians will get a chance to bid for their own slice of ancient history next month, when one of the biggest Bronze Age barrows in Cornwall is put up for auction.
YOUNG ARCHAEOLOGISTS DISCOVER NEW SITES
A group of young people on an archaeological holiday in Cornwall with the Young Archaeologists’ Club (YAC)(1) have discovered two previously unrecorded oblong, grave-shaped stone mounds (2) on Minions Moor, part of Bodmin Moor.(3)
Since this discovery in June, experts have examined the sites, which could date back to the Bronze Age. Local archaeologists had no idea these stone cairns were there and are planning to undertake further research in November, when summer vegetation has died down.
As Holiday Leader Tony Blackman explained, “The group literally stumbled over these finds and were quick to assess their context within the ancient prehistoric landscape of this area.”
These are not the first Prehistoric monuments discovered by youngsters on a YAC holiday on Bodmin Moor.
The Young Archaeologists’ Club, which is run by the Council for British Archaeology,(4) has a UK network of 70 branches and its members regularly make new archaeological discoveries.
“Many of our Branches work in close contact with local archaeologists and the results can be amazing,” said Alison Bodley, Co-ordinator of the Club. “For example our North Downs Branch recently found a previously unknown Iron Age enclosure whilst field-walking near Maidstone. The area was to form part of a country park, and the plans for the design of the park were subsequently altered in order to preserve the site”.
Branches of the Young Archaeologists’ Club run a programme of varied activities including recording graveyards, excavating sites and preparing museum exhibitions.
The Director of the Council for British Archaeology, George Lambrick said, “Young people are sharp-eyed and open-minded – key attributes for making interesting new discoveries. YAC gives them a hands-on experience of what archaeology is all about – and they can make a real contribution to our knowledge of the past.”
-Ends-
For further details:
For Cairns found by YAC Cornwall Holiday members, contact Tony Blackman 01872 572725 [email protected]
For images, Young Archaeologists’ Club and YAC Branches, contact Alison Bodley 01904 671417/ 0788 4444675 [email protected]
Following my enquiry about the ‘Cornish barrow for sale’, I had a pleasant surprise yesterday. A fax from Nic Potter (the present owner).
Avid Kernow-ite TMA’ers may remember that I offered £10,000 for the barrow and land (including some sort of not-for-profit sell on clause), or suggested that maybe the National Trust (or similar organisation) might be worth speaking to, given the general location (Land’s End) and the historic interest.
Nic is selling some moor land (just less than 4 acres) in Penwith which includes a recently discovered ‘double ringed’ barrow. The land can’t be farmed or built upon.
The fax said that following the press/media coverage the website received over 11,000 hits and Nic has decided that it will be easiest to sell it at auction, via FPD Savills (Tel – 020 7824 9091), on 22nd September 2003 in London (I’m a bit confused about the venue – website says something different to Nic’s fax). A small amount of information can be found here – https://195.224.227.45/fpdsavills/
Nic says that it has proved, due to its uniqueness, impossible to value it (there simply is no precedent). Therefore there will be no estimate or guide price, but there will be a reserve, which Nic cannot reveal.
Nic added that frankly it could go for a low, medium or high price – he simply doesn’t know what will happen. He’s selling the land to provide funds for a recording studio. He liked the spirit of my offer, and added that if I couldn’t put in a higher bid, he’d talk to me if it remained unsold.
From Western Morning News
thisisdevon.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=103354&command=displayContent&sourceNode=103331&contentPK=6169170
Rock musician Nic Potter is selling a Bronze Age burial mound – considered to be of significant national value and one of the largest in Cornwall – on the Internet to the highest bidder.
The four-acre site is the property of London-based Nic, 51, who played bass guitar with top 70s progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator.
For a number of personal reasons and despite his love of the romance and mystery of the site, which has outstanding views of both the north and south coasts, Nic has put it on the market with a guide price of £150,000.
Nic, who plans to move to France and build his own recording studio to record solo material, said: “The site has always been very inspirational to me.
“I would come up here and suddenly start hearing bits of music which I would use in the band. You have the power of music up there – it’s very special.
“But now I live in London and I don’t come up here too often, so it’s time to sell it and move on.”
The barrow itself is made up of two rings of stone. The largest is 11.5 metres and some of the bigger stones are up to 2m wide and 1.22m high. Nic bought the land from his father, Norman Potter, in the mid-1980s for a few thousand pounds.
He said it had been very difficult to put a value on the site as it is unique and although he has set a provisional price, he will consider any offer.
Cornish-based estate agent for Miller Countrywide Nigel Bedford said he had never come across anything like Nic’s barrow during 25 years in the job.
“The closest I have come to this is a fogou (an underground chamber with spiritual and ceremonial significance found only in Cornwall) which was on the land of a house I was asked to value at Lamorna, but I’ve never sold an underground burial chamber,” he said.
Although Nic’s barrow, one of 2,500 in the county, is marked on many ancient maps, its existence had been more or less forgotten and Nic only uncovered the monument two years ago. He said: “I had always noticed the stones peeping out from the undergrowth but had always stayed away from them thinking they could be a mine shaft or something.
“When I finally cleared all the undergrowth away and called in Cornwall County Council’s archaeological unit I was told it was a Grade A monument. The man who came to see it got very excited.”
English Heritage – protector of this country’s national monuments – has expressed grave concern about the future safety of the 4,000-year-old barrow, which sits on a hilltop in West Cornwall. Inspector of Monuments for English Heritage Ian Morrison said he is powerless to make any moves to protect the monument at the moment but would certainly be considering it for protection in the future.
He said: “We understand the current owner is aware of its significant archaeological value. We can only hope that the next owner respects it as an important part of Cornwall’s heritage and that they will not damage it unnecessarily.”
Principal archaeologist for Cornwall County Council Steve Hartgroves said: “It’s a lovely early Bronze Age barrow. It is the resting place of the cremated remains of a local chief and so a site of ceremonial and ritual significance.
“It has been knocked around a bit and has a number of holes and piles of stones where it has been taken apart. There is also a rectangular structure in the middle of the mound, which could possibly have been a pigsty or shelter.
“I’m not aware of any other site in the country that has been sold because it contains an interesting antiquity and I can’t say who would want to buy it. Maybe it will appeal to the American market.”
What is almost certain, however, is that anything of financial value in the barrow will have been stolen long ago; its value is purely archaeological.
And because the site is part of an environmentally sensitive area and of national importance for its landscape, wildlife and historic interest there is no chance of anyone getting permission to build on it.
Nic has vowed he will only sell it to someone who will treat it with the same care and respect he has shown.
Full details of the barrow are available on Nic’s website www.cornish-barrow.co.uk.
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cornwall/3010974.stm
One of the biggest Bronze Age burial chambers in Cornwall has been put on the market for £150,000.
The barrow in West Penwith was built 4,000 years ago and was discovered two years ago by its owner, musician Nick Potter, who bought the land from relatives.
The barrow consists of two rings of stones. The largest is 11.5 metres in diameter and some of the bigger stones are up to 2m wide and 1.22m high.
Experts in archaeology say the site is steeped in ancient history and is considered of national importance for its landscape, wildlife and historic interest.
Steve Hartgroves, an archaeologist at Cornwall County Council, said the monument represented a site of “great archaeological significance”.
However, treasure hunters will be disappointed as the barrow was raided many years ago.
The barrow, one of 2,500 in Cornwall, is being scheduled by English Heritage in a process similar to listing of houses.
That means no one can build on the site, which comes with four acres of moorland, or use the land for farming.
The village herbalists and rural advisers have not entirely fallen into disrepute. Many are the remedies, some no doubt beneficial, recommended by them. The use of some, however, are equivocal. Thus rheumatism is attempted to be cured by a “boiled thunderbolt;” in other words, a boiled celt, supposed to be a thunderbolt. This is boiled for hours, and the water then dispensed to rheumatic patients. I know not whether it be a libel that one old woman, who employed this remedy, used to express her astonishment that, keep the saucepan on the fire as long as she would, none of the celt would ever boil away.
J O Halliwell-Phillipps reporting in Rambles in Western Cornwall by the Footsteps of the Giants (1861).
.. the celebrated stone circle called the Dawns Men, the Dance Stones, or, popularly, the Merry Maidens. This is a very perfect circle of nineteen stones which average about three feet and a-half in height above the ground, the circle itself being nearly seventy feet in diameter.
There are various country traditions which account for the existence of these stones. Some say that they were maidens who were transformed into stones for dancing on the Lord’s Day. Others assert that a man is buried under each stone. All, however, agree that the stones are placed there by supernatural agency, and that it is impossible to remove them.
An old man at Boleigh, who informed us that a farmer, having removed two or three of the stones on one occasion, was astonished to see them in their old places the next morning, was evidently displeased at the account being inconsiderately received with a smile of incredulity.
Another story respecting them is, that an attempt to drag them out of their places, although a vast horse or oxen power was engaged, utterly failed, and that the cattle employed in the task fell down, and shortly after died.
[...]
The Dawns Men were no doubt so called by the country people because the stones are placed in the order in which persons arranged themselves for an ancient dance, termed Trematheeves, which continued in vogue in Cornwall as late as the last century. Hence also probably originated the legend above mentioned; although it is to be observed that similar tales are current elsewhere to account for such-like circles of stones in Wales and other countries.
From Rambles in Western Cornwall by the Footsteps of the Giants by J O Halliwell-Phillipps (1861).
There is a tradition respecting the large top of a cromlech, in Cornwall, that was removed to a brook at a distance, and converted into a bridge; it is said that this stone possessed the power of speech, and answered questions put to it, until on a certain time, it cracked in an effort to speak, and has been silent ever since. This vague tradition must have originated in the oracular use made of the cromlech from whence the stone was taken.
Vague indeed. Unless someone can enlighten us..
From p279 of The Graphic and Historical Illustrator
Edward Wedlake Brayley (1834) – which can be perused on Google Books.
GARRACK ZANS – VILLAGE RITUAL STONES
Whilst scouring my lil’ collection of Cornish literature for any interesting references to visits, folklore &c, I found the following in William Bottrell’s “Traditions and Hearthside Stories of West Cornwall (2nd series)“. referencing a tradition of meeting stones, known as Garrack Zans: it doesn’t have any proveable prehistory but looks damn likely to be a really late survivor of megalithic tradition, and thus very much of interest; brackets are mine.
“Within the memory of many persons now living, there was to be seen, in the town-places of many western villages, an unhewn table like stone called the Garrack Zans. This stone was the usual meeting place of the villagers, and regarded by them as public property. Old residents in Escols (Escalls, near Sennen) have often told me of one which stood near the centre of that hamlet on an open space...(this) they described as nearly round, about three feet high, and nine in diameter, with a level top. A bonfire was made on it and danced around at Mid-summer. When petty offences were committed by unknown persons, those who wished to prove their innocence, and to discover the guilty, were accustomed to light a furse-fire on the Garrick Zans: each person who assisted took a stick of fire from the pile, and those could extinguish the fire in their sticks, by spitting on them, were deemed innocent; if the injured handed a fire-stick to any persons, who failed to do so, they were declared guilty.
Most evening young persons, linked hand in hand, danced around the Garrack Zans, and many old folks passed around it nine times daily from some notion that it was lucky and good against withcraft.
The stone now known as Table-men was called the Garrack Zans by old people of Sennen.
If our traditions may be relied on, there was also in Treen a large one, around which a market was held in days of yore...
There was a Garrack Zans in Sowah (Ardensawah near St.Buryan) only a few years since, and one may still be seen in Roskestal, St. Levan.
Nothing seems to be known respecting their original use; yet the significant name, and a belief – that it is unlucky to remove them, denote that they were once regarded as sacred objects.”
Bottrell’s work first appeared in 1873, from tales collected by him in the quarter century preceding; thus the Garrack Zans was a central feature up until at least about 1800.
Questions arising;
1 – the etymology of the name? (Obviously Careg, Carrick in the first instance – but Zans?)
2 – Is the Table-men still extant in Sennen? I would imagine it to be in Churchtown rather than Cove...and indeed that in Roskestal, a small farmstead?
I own, I was thunderstruck* at the report of this singular instance of superstition, and suspended my belief of its existence till I was at length convinced by the testimony of my senses. The old lady, who possesses this miraculous thunderbolt, lives, at this moment, in the parish of St. Keverne, adjoining to Manaccan. She informed me that it was found, many years ago, at no great distance from her house, just after a thunderstorm, half buried in the ground, and was taken up hot and smoking; and that its virtue was accidentally discovered by one of the family, “who lost the rheumatism” merely by handling it. On asking her what was her method of applying her thunderbolt to her patients, her answer was, that ”She boil’d ‘en for about three hours, and gave the water to her patients, with directions to bathe the part affected; and that she had cured hundreds. – “Boil’d dunderbolt was a vine thing for the rheumatis,” said an old man present. – - It is a perfect celt.
p28 of ‘The Old English Gentleman: A Poem, by Mr. Polwhele’ by Richard Polwhele, published 1797. Online at Google Books.
*yes very good.
And some further axehead folklore:
A celt (commonly called in this neighbourhood a thunderbolt) was some years ago found on [West Looe] Down. The common people believe these celts to be produced by thunder, and thrown down from the clouds; and that they shew what weather will ensue by changing their colour.
p32 of ‘The Parochial History of Cornwall’ by Davies Gilbert (v4) 1838. Also on Google Books.
A warning for TMA-ers!
From “Churches of West Cornwall with Notes on the Antiquities of the District” – J.T. Blight, from the preface to the second edition (published 1884 after Blight’s death):
“By Mr. Blight’s death Archaeology has lost not only an enthusiastic student, but a hard worker, and it is much to be feared that his too eager devotion to his favourite pursuit amidst his daily toil brought on the illness which had so sad a termination.”
Don’t say we haven’t been warned.
Cornwall is blessed with a long and fascinating history. Although visitors are often drawn to the county by the so called ‘Poldark effect’ many more are also seeking out our enigmatic prehistoric monuments. Elizabeth Dale investigates the hidden threat to this precious heritage.
“A field guide to accessible sites
This is an online guide to accessible monuments in Cornwall, compiled by the Strategic Historic Environment Service of Cornwall Council. It is aimed at anyone with an interest in the countryside, heritage and culture of Cornwall, who wish to get out and experience the wealth of the county’s remarkable sites and monuments.
The range of monuments that can be visited in Cornwall encompass every period of history and prehistory, and reveals insights into changing patterns of agriculture and subsistence, ritual and religion, industry and transport – in short, all facets of human culture over a timespan exceeding 10,000 years.
New sites will be added periodically, so please check back in the future for any newly added sites. Any new additions will be highlighted as such on this page.”
The new Cornwall Heritage Trust website is now up and running -
“Cornwall Heritage Trust was founded in 1985 to help preserve important sites in Cornwall and to protect and promote the Duchy’s rich heritage. We own or manage some of the most iconic and important historic places in Cornwall.”
Lovely clear interactive maps with links to more information on the Heritage Gateway.
New website for the campaign group;
Keeping us up to date on a funded project to, amongst other things, rediscover and preserve some of the archaeology around the Hurlers, Stowe’s Hill etc.
Cornwall: West Penwith Wanderings (Part 1)
“If you ever find yourself in West Penwith (Cornwall) with 3 hours or so to spare, this walk should satisfy the Megalithic cravings of most people as it takes in half a dozen or more sites of different types.”
Part 1 of a 3 part feature by AlanS.
The Cornish Ancient Sites Protection Network is a charitable partnership formed to look after the ancient sites and monuments of Cornwall.
They work closely with local communities and official organisations to protect and promote the ancient heritage landscape through research, education and outreach activities.
Constantly growing collection of quality photos of Bodmin Moor with a focus on the numerous ancient sites
Extensive collection of photos including large section on historic / ancient sites around Cornwall
Flyingpast.org is the culmination of a twelve year project mapping archaeological and historical sites visible on aerial photos in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. The project was commissioned and paid for by English Heritage and the mapping was carried out by the Historic Environment Service of Cornwall County Council. That’s their words...my words...brilliant site!
Some interesting papers first published in 1986. They cover everything from the mesolithic to the neolithic in the county.
Pictures and thoughts from one mans travels around the county...lots that is relevant to TMA fans.
Some nice pics of a few Cornish monuments and natural rock formations, including an infra red image of the Men-an-Tol
William Copeland Borlase – Cornish Antiquities Viewed in the Light of Modern Research, 1880
A nice comprehensive website covering all aspects of prehistory in Penwith
An absolutely wonderful website, packed full of ancient photographs and illustrations of the prehistoric monuments of Cornwall.
My current favourite is the 1860’s photograph of Lanyon Quoit and a bloke in a stove pipe hat.
Cornwall information resource with features including archaeological sites, towns and villages, interactive maps, places to stay and much much more.
This beautiful website will make your brain ache and your heart leap – proper archaeology?
Archaeologists from Cornwall County Council’s Historic Environment Service are uncovering the early history of Scarcewater, near St.Stephen-in-Brannel, where work on a much needed tip for the china clay industry is to begin shortly.
read more...
“I’m a Christian and a Druid”
Cornwall’s Arch Druid Ed Prynn believes it’s possible to be both a Christian and a Druid. He told BBC Cornwall what his faith means to him.
Ed Prynn’s site
Cornwall has the reputation of being a magical, mystical and spiritual place. We went to see Arch Druid Ed Prynn to discuss the Merlin, angels and marrying for a year and day...
“Being the Arch Druid of Cornwall is a special, unusual job. I didn’t get elected it fell out of the heavens for me.”
The healing stone is a replica of the Men-an-tol holed stone.
Ed refuses to have his faith bound by other people’s ideas: “I was born locked into both faiths – Christian and Druid.
“Being a Druid you are a free spirit. The door is open to explore all the magic – the angels, the little people, the ley lines. Druids can experiment with all the things which are forbidden by the Bible.
“I go to chapel but everything’s from the one book. People ask me how can I be in both camps but spiritual camps are not like political or military camps. It’s all about loving one another. It’s all about trying to be one.”
Prynn had his first mystic encounter at the age of 9 and became drawn by the power of standing stones.
He started to put the stones in his garden in 1982 and the last stone was put in 1999 to celebrate the total eclipse.
“The stones here have made new spiritual history. Thousands of people have touched the stones and left some of their magic aura. Being a Christian you are supposed to follow the teaching of the Bible.
“The stones are important because the energy gets drawn into them. You can feel this type of energy, you feel a bit wobbly on your feet.”
“Cornwall is a special place – we’re not like a big city, we have a different way of life completely. Cornwall has all these old stones, cultures and ways. The ways have never died out and the people around who know how to make the magic work.”
The showpiece of Ed’s stones is the Angel’s runway: “The rocking stone provides a seal so that a spell would work. It’s used for swearing in of priests and priestesses, healing, fertility – people even write their lottery tickets on it.
“The Rocking Stone has magic energy lines around it. The site can be magic or people can be magic. I believe both are here and that the Godly mystique has come to this place.”
Ed is happy to accept visitors to his home in St Merryn to see the stones. You can’t miss it...
Links to Cornish Stones Circles / Menhirs / Hillforts / and Earth mysteries etc.
Site by Laurence Hunt.
West Penwith is justly famous for its prehistoric stone circles, quoits and standing stones. The area also has a large number of holy wells.
MEYN MAMVRO is the magazine of ancient stones and sacred sites in Cornwall. It has been published regularly 3 times a year since 1986, and, taken together, all the editions contain a wealth of original material about the prehistory and ancient customs of Cornwall.
EARTH ENERGIES * ANCIENT STONES * SACRED SITES * PAGANISM * LEYPATHS
CORNISH PRE-HISTORY & CULTURE * MEGALITHIC MYSTERIES * LEGENDS & FOLKLORE
Loads of info on places to stay in Cornwall.
I am a tourist guide operating in the Bodmin Moor/ southeast Cornwall area. Don’t let that put you off! I am also a big Cope fan and love nothing better than heading of accross the open moors in search of whatever is out there. You don’t even have to come on one of my organised walks, just email me quoting the Modern Antiquarian and I will sort something out. I gotta walk.....
