Post by Urban Warrior on May 5, 2006 6:13:45 GMT
Iv been here and its worth taking a trip to see it if your near the area..... ;D
The village of Chysauster was probably first built in the early second century AD by local Cornish Britons of the Dumnonii tribe. The settlement was largely self-sufficient, growing its own cereal crops, supplemented by dairy produce and meat from livestock. Evidence for such a farming economy has been confirmed, and traces can still be seen in the form of the ancient enclosures that these farmers erected to stop their livestock ruining their crops.
The settlers probably bartered for what little they had in the way of possessions by trading in nuggets of Tin, which they collected from the streams and river-beds throughout the region. This activity was known as "tin-streaming", and brought the natives all the luxury goods they required, by way of trade from the nearby port of Ictis (St. Michael's Mount). The settlement consisted of a number of stone-built enclosures of roughly circular outline, surrounding a central courtyard and having living and storage chambers in its exterior walls.
The basic house plan is an open courtyard with a round living room opposite the entrance and a long narrow room along one side wall, but most houses have extra rooms and some are very complex. The main room contains a flat stone in the ground with a socket hole, which presumably held the wooden post supporting a thatched roof. Also visible are open hearths, stone basins for grinding grain, and covered drains. All the houses had terraced gardens.
At Chysauster there is a fogou (Cornish for cave, pronounced "foogoo". A stone underground tunnel or chamber. Nobody knows what they were used for; though suggestions include food storage, cattle shelter, refuge against attackers and ritual use. Fogous are found all over Cornwall and were generally built at the edge of settlements). This particular one is in a ruined state, which was disappointing.
Located in West Penwith this English Heritage site is well signposted and reached via back lanes to New Mill which leaves the B3311 at badgers cross. Entrance fee is £3.50 (well worth it). There are toilet facilities on site. We found this a very interesting site with lots of history and apparently it is popular with basking adders although we did not see any.
Carn Euny – Settlement and Fogou
GReference: SW 402 288
OSMap: LR203, Explorer7.
Carn Euny is an Iron Age settlement built around 300 - 200BC. Not as immediately impressive as Chysauster but with its own sense of magic. We visited on a foggy day and we felt otherworldly presences, both my wife and I sensed we were certainly being watched! I noticed when we entered the Fogou that there were ritual remains in the circular chamber. Obviously someone else had been here and felt the same energies as we had.
This Fogou is in a wonderful state of preservation. It curves gently, extends 20 metres underground and is built of stone with massive slabs providing the roof. Moving on to the rest of the village there are several courtyard houses, reminiscent of the nearby Chysauster, each having several rooms accessed from a central courtyard with floors of compacted clay and broken rock, containing hearths and clay-lined storage pits. In the courtyards and between the houses there were water-drainage channels and collection tanks, including stone-lined, covered drains.
This site is not easy to get to. Follow the A30 west out of Penzance. When you reach Drift take a right heading for Sancreed. Before you reach Sancreed take a left up a narrow lane. Follow this to the end where there are a few houses and an area you can park in. The ancient settlement is a short walk away up a lane by the side of the houses, over a couple of fields, covered when we went in wild camomile, and you are there. Please note there are no toilet facilities at this site. Entrance is free. We recommend wellies for both sites, as they get rather sludgy when wet. Both sites are well worth a visit.
©Stephen Bembridge
Glapwell Nr Chesterfield
First Published Dragonswood Magazine Yule 2005 All rights reserved by Author
The village of Chysauster was probably first built in the early second century AD by local Cornish Britons of the Dumnonii tribe. The settlement was largely self-sufficient, growing its own cereal crops, supplemented by dairy produce and meat from livestock. Evidence for such a farming economy has been confirmed, and traces can still be seen in the form of the ancient enclosures that these farmers erected to stop their livestock ruining their crops.
The settlers probably bartered for what little they had in the way of possessions by trading in nuggets of Tin, which they collected from the streams and river-beds throughout the region. This activity was known as "tin-streaming", and brought the natives all the luxury goods they required, by way of trade from the nearby port of Ictis (St. Michael's Mount). The settlement consisted of a number of stone-built enclosures of roughly circular outline, surrounding a central courtyard and having living and storage chambers in its exterior walls.
The basic house plan is an open courtyard with a round living room opposite the entrance and a long narrow room along one side wall, but most houses have extra rooms and some are very complex. The main room contains a flat stone in the ground with a socket hole, which presumably held the wooden post supporting a thatched roof. Also visible are open hearths, stone basins for grinding grain, and covered drains. All the houses had terraced gardens.
At Chysauster there is a fogou (Cornish for cave, pronounced "foogoo". A stone underground tunnel or chamber. Nobody knows what they were used for; though suggestions include food storage, cattle shelter, refuge against attackers and ritual use. Fogous are found all over Cornwall and were generally built at the edge of settlements). This particular one is in a ruined state, which was disappointing.
Located in West Penwith this English Heritage site is well signposted and reached via back lanes to New Mill which leaves the B3311 at badgers cross. Entrance fee is £3.50 (well worth it). There are toilet facilities on site. We found this a very interesting site with lots of history and apparently it is popular with basking adders although we did not see any.
Carn Euny – Settlement and Fogou
GReference: SW 402 288
OSMap: LR203, Explorer7.
Carn Euny is an Iron Age settlement built around 300 - 200BC. Not as immediately impressive as Chysauster but with its own sense of magic. We visited on a foggy day and we felt otherworldly presences, both my wife and I sensed we were certainly being watched! I noticed when we entered the Fogou that there were ritual remains in the circular chamber. Obviously someone else had been here and felt the same energies as we had.
This Fogou is in a wonderful state of preservation. It curves gently, extends 20 metres underground and is built of stone with massive slabs providing the roof. Moving on to the rest of the village there are several courtyard houses, reminiscent of the nearby Chysauster, each having several rooms accessed from a central courtyard with floors of compacted clay and broken rock, containing hearths and clay-lined storage pits. In the courtyards and between the houses there were water-drainage channels and collection tanks, including stone-lined, covered drains.
This site is not easy to get to. Follow the A30 west out of Penzance. When you reach Drift take a right heading for Sancreed. Before you reach Sancreed take a left up a narrow lane. Follow this to the end where there are a few houses and an area you can park in. The ancient settlement is a short walk away up a lane by the side of the houses, over a couple of fields, covered when we went in wild camomile, and you are there. Please note there are no toilet facilities at this site. Entrance is free. We recommend wellies for both sites, as they get rather sludgy when wet. Both sites are well worth a visit.
©Stephen Bembridge
Glapwell Nr Chesterfield
First Published Dragonswood Magazine Yule 2005 All rights reserved by Author