| Summary : Carn Euny is a settlement consisting of several houses and a fogou (an underground passage and chamber), built in three phases from the 5th century BC to 1st century AD. Finds from the site date from the Mesolithic period onwards. It was probably settled from the Bronze Age, though mainly in the Iron Age and Romano-British periods. The name Carn Euny is thought to relate to a nearby outcrop of rock named after an Irish Abbot who arrived on the peninsula in 5th century AD. The fogou is over 20 metres long with a round chamber with an entrance passage. It was discovered in the 1840s by miners prospecting for tin. It is constructed of rough granite blocks and roofed by granite slabs. Its earliest feature is the round chamber with a corbelled roof. The floor is below ground level and a central portion of the roof is open to the sky. Excavation was carried out at the site in 1863-7 by William Copeland Borlase, and later in 1964 and 1972. The original function of the fogou is unclear. It may have been used as a place of refuge, or perhaps for cold storage. Alternatively it may have had some kind of ritual significance. The surviving stone huts fall into two main groups, three large irregular enclosures of courtyard houses, and a group of round or oval houses. Excavations revealed traces of levelled platforms in neighbouring fields. In the fields to the north and east there were traces of ploughed down lynchets of a field system probably associated with the settlement. Traces of a road way were found at the village. The site appears to have been abandoned in the 4th century AD until the post-medieval period when the huts were considerably disturbed and largely rebuilt and the fogou blocked. Finds uncovered during excavation have included pottery, querns, spindle whorls, whet-stones, grinding stones, flint and chert artefacts, animal teeth, ashes, an iron spearhead, an iron 'crook' and a fragment of Roman Samian ware. The site is now in the care of English Heritage. |
More information : SW 4025 2884. British Village [OE] Cave [OE] Stones [TI] (1)
"The fogou at Carn Euny is 66 feet long and the main tunnel is 5.5 feet to 6.5 feet high inside and 6 to 7 feet wide at the floor. The western end trails off in ruins but close by a tunnel just large enough to creep through leads upwards at a sharp angle to the surface. In its walls are two little niches opposite each other... At the other end a larger passage 4 feet high leads into a commodious round room ... roofed by a corbelled vault. The upper part of this has fallen in but the wall remains in one place to a height of 8.5 feet. Copeland Borlases excavation (5) of the fogou showed that it had been at one time been intentionally filled up with earth from the village for the filling contained an iron spearhead, an iron 'crook' perhaps a billhook of the kind in common use in the later Iron Age and a fragment of Roman Samian ware. Other finds included black pottery common to 1st century BC and 1st century AD, red pottery, part of a quern, spindle whorls, whet-stones, grinding stones, animal teeth and ashes. Built in the Iron Age and still occupied in Roman times. See AO/59/286/8. (2)
Subterranean chambers at Chapel Euny - [Detailed report of excavations and discoveries between 1863 and 1867 which is summarised in (2)] [See AO/59/380/3] (3)
Chapel Euny Settlement (short report of the writer's excavations in the years 1863, 1864 and 1868 when he goes on to say: "Besides the underground chambers at Chapel Euny ... the settlement consisted also of several hut-dwellings on the surface while in the neighbouring fields are traces of levelled platforms ... No vestiges of fortification are observable. Perhaps on account of the proximity of Caer Bran [Corn.73N.E.16] which crowns the summit of the hill ..." (4)
Sancreed: Carn Euny ancient village and cave. Scheduled Listed under 'Camps & Settlements'. (5)
The fogou is as described by Authority 2. The subterranean passages are constructed of rough granite blocks and roofed by granite slabs resting on the side walls. The round room is made of rough coursed granite blocks and is of the beehive type of construction. The floor is 3.4 metres below ground level and the central portion of the roof is open to the sky. Although the site is in the care of the Ministry of Works the huts are in a poor condition and have not been excavated. They consist of dry stone banks partly overgrown by grass and are not more than 1.2 metres high. There seems to have been at least three huts of the courtyard house type. Most of the neighbouring fields are intensively cultivated and the platforms mentioned by Authority 4 appear to have been destroyed. In the pasture fields to the north and east there are traces of ploughed down lynchets of a field system which was doubtless associated with the settlement. They cover an area centred at SW 40272885. A 25-inch survey has been made. Ground photographs: AO/60/371/3 - the south west entrance of the fogou; AO/60/371/4 - the north east entrance of the fogou and AO/60/371/5 the round room from above showing the entrance passage to the fogou. (6)
Settlement (NR) (7)
The Carn Euny Settlement, taken into Guardianship in 1953, was excavated between 1964 and 1974, see plans. 4 main phases of occupation were identified although the Phase I pottery, South Western 'B' from 400 to 1st century BC, may not be connected with a village but only with the building of the fogou round chamber.
By Phase II structures dated by cordoned ware of 1st century BC and showing as gullies and post-holes beneath the courtyard house walls were in existence. House A1, which probably belongs to this phase, appears to have been a timber and turf structure of the type suggested for Hut L at Goldherring (See SW 42 NW 38). Similar structures were found beneath courtyard Houses II and IV.
The surviving stone houses fall into two main groups, the large irregular enclosures over 30 feet diameter of courtyard houses I, II and IV and the round or oval houses of about 20 feet. The courtyard houses were occupied during Phases III and IV, mid 1st century BC to 4th Century AD, and all the houses in the village showed similar internal features. Two hollowed stones found in situ in courtyard house III and house E were probably mortars, a greenstone pestle being found in the former. Possibly socket stones for timber uprights but considering the large number of post holes found it is possible that they had domestic uses.
Traces of a roadway were found east of Courtyard House II which appears to have served the east and north of the site. Access to houses E, F and courtyard house IV must have been further west and it would seem likely that the roadway encircled the village passing south of houses A, B and E and providing access to courtyard houses IV/V and house F.
The village appears to have been abandoned in the 4th century AD until the post-Medieval period when the huts were considerably disturbed and largely rebuilt and the fogou blocked. Finds included abundant stonework which included many querns. Spindle whorls of clay and stone and three iron objects were found. Flint and chert artefacts were scattered in all levels and included Mesolithic and Neolithic/Bronze Age types.
The fogou was shown to consist of three main building phases starting with the round corbelled chamber and entrance passage dated to the 5th century BC by stamp decorated pottery found under the paving. The chamber was cut into the natural rab, the surviving walls standing 8 feet up to the upper corbel. It may have been roofed with timber or thatch around a central post.
The long passage, with its side passage, is up to 6 feet high. Eleven capstones were still in position and fallen ones were replaced where possible. Pottery from beneath the paving stones was of a type found in quantity only here, hence known as 'Carn Euny ware' and dated to the 2nd century BC. This provides a date for the use, if not the construction, of most Cornish fogous. The fogou extension with its deep sump and dividing wall is thought to be a later Iron Age feature. The final modification was the east entrance, the sloping unroofed portion at the east end of the passage being lined with vertical walling terminating in two uprights at point of entry into courtyard house I. Cultivation terraces survive at SW 40122880 (11). (8-13)
Additional bibliography (14)
This guardianship site is well preserved in its excavated state. Published 1/2500 survey revised. A number of rather vague and spread lynchets are evident under crops in the field to the north-west of the settlement, however two effaced field hedges account for some of the cropmarks. (15)
NMR source. (16)
SW 4024 2885. A magnificient fogou built in 3 phases from 5th century BC to 1st century AD set within an Iron Age village under the care of English Heritage and near the hamlet of Brane where parking is provided. The name Carn Euny relates to a nearby outcrop of rock named after an Irish Abbot who arrived on the peninsula in 5th century AD. The fogou is unique in that it is the only one found incorporating a round chamber, similar to a beehive hut. The fogou was first recorded by Reverend Butler, the vicar of St Just, in 1842. William Copeland Borlase led his debut excavation here between 1863 and 1867 and a number of finds associated with Romano British settlements were made. Further excavations were made in 1964 and 1972 where more finds were made and reports were written on the proceedings by Patricia Christie. (17)
The stone houses that make up the visible remains represent a settlement that thrived from the late Iron Age through the the Romano-British period. The village is situated on the south facing slopes of a hill near the summit of Caer Brane with its Iron Age hillfort. The remains of houses and prehistoric field systems surrounding the site indicate that the area was settled probably from the Bronze Age onwards, and finds of flint tools suggest a human presence from the Mesolithic period. Carn Euny is a settlement of several dwelling houses of a type which is peculiar to West Penwith and known as 'courtyard houses'. They can be quite variable in design, but consist basically of a massive drystone wall forming an open courtyard of roughly oval shape, with a round or oval dwelling house built into the wall opposite the entrance and a series of lean-to structures ranged along either side. 'Fogou' is Cornish for 'cave' and fogou's are structures excavated from the rock and then lined and roofed with slabs of stone. (18)
A brief history and description. (19)
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