More information : [SW 40503395] CHUN CASTLE [NR]
(HILL CASTLE) [NR]
[SW 40493397] WELL [NR]
Chun Castle is situated on a hill summit at 709 ft. O.D. It is
roughly circular on plan with outer and inner walls (now 5 1/2 ft.
and 3-4 ft. high respectively), each with an external ditch. The
entrance is on the west overlooking Chun Quoit (SW43 SW 29)The
interior was divided into a ring of buildings around an open space but very little of the walls remains.
The site was excavated in 1895 by J.B.Cornish (not published except
for a short note in V.C.H.), again in 1925 by E.T. Leeds and finally
in 1927 and 1930, again by Leeds.
The 1925 excavation revealed a large furnace on the north side of
the enclosure, a well 12 ft. deep which had been cleared out some
25 years previously, a house of elliptical form,east of the well and
another in the S.E. quarter, of two chambers. Finds included pottery,
muller, sling stones, flint chips, 3 spindle whorls, a portion of a
shale bracelet, iron and tin slag (2).
The 1927 and 1930 excavations proved that the septa, first shown
on Borlase's plan, and still extant, are later than the original
construction of the castle and may be cattle pens erected at an
unknown date.
Four earlier buildings were identified between the north side of the
inner gate and the east side of the well.
Finds included hammer-stones, a flint flake,glass fragments and pottery. Leeds identifies the latter as belonging to "forms more or
less familiar in Early Iron Age pottery" but excepts a pot found
near a hearth.
Leeds considers occupation of the site to have lasted from the 3rd century B.C. until probably only a little before or at the outside just after the Roman conquest. He noted some pottery considered to be Roman in the upper strata of ditch fill.
[AO/59/288/3-6] (3)
Thomas re-examined some of the pottery from the Chun Castle
excavations, the pot found near the hearth (see authority 3) he
classifies as post-Roman native pottery, probably early in
the
Cornish sequence, possibly c.A.D.500-700. [AO/59/286/6]
Of the pottery (amphora sherds) which led Leeds to suggest the end
of the occupation as near the time of the Roman conquest, Thomas
states that in Britain this type of pottery has so far only occurred
in post-Roman contexts and he concludes - "Considered together the
cooking-pot and the amphora sherds indicate use, and therefore
possible re-occupation of Chun Castle during the period c
A.D.550-650". (4)
[SW 40463397] "Small curved bank and ditch 28 paces WNW of entrance,
Chun Castle". (5)
Chun Castle,scheduled. (6)
Approaching Chun Castle on the north side may be seen remains of huts, called 'The Crellas' [SW 43 SW 37]A road, of the same period as the huts, partly excavated out of the soil, and guarded on either side by large stones, communicates with the Castle.
Chun Castle is generally as described by Leeds. The outer ditch is
in poor condition and the fragmentary traces are confined to the
western half of the fort.
There is no real inner ditch, the space between the ramparts being
at or above outside ground level. The walling of the outer rampart
is clearly visible on the outer face, but that of the inner rampart
has collapsed for the most part, and is now a bank of tumbled stone.
The walling remains intact at the inner and outer entrances (see
AO/61/16/2 and 3 from W. and N.W. respectively) and is up to 2.2m.
high - considerably higher than reported by Leeds. The entrance
passage in the inner rampart converges and has two large entrance jambs on the inner side.
The interior buildings are in poor condition, those on the south
now appear as a series of pits up to 1.5m. deep, joined on ther
northern extremities by traces of a stone bank 0.4m. high. Similarly
on the north of the enclosure the one excavated hut is now a pit.
The well, however, is in good condition (see AO/61/16/1 from W). There are no traces of the traverses between inner and outer bank.
O.G.S. Crawford refers to an outer bank and ditch W.N.W. from the
entrance. There is nothing in this area, but 25.0m S.W. of the
entrance is a short stretch of bank and outer ditch (the bank is
0.3 high and the ditch 0.2. deep)which is evidently the feature
he was referring to. The position of it is suggestive of a traverse
covering the entrance in the outer rampart although the distance
between them makes it of little defensive value. In construction
it resembles the modern enclosure banks often found in moorland
regions but it is hard to understand what an isolated stretch of bank of this type is doing here.
A 25" survey of the hill castle has been made. (8)
No change from survey of 13 1 61. (9)
SW 405 339. Chun Castle. Listed in gazetteer as a multivallate hillfort covering 0.14ha. (10) |