Ancient Sites

The activities of alternative-thinking people such as dowsers and pagans have made the public aware of Leys or alignments. Whilst their true nature still needs to be understood, it is known that an amazing number of Stone Age, Bronze Age, and even Iron Age Monuments are situated on straight lines, sometimes with only a few feet divergence. Why our forbears put their monuments on these straight lines is unclear. Were they experts in surveying the land even though they did not have sophisticated equipment, or were they instinctively reacting to what was already in the land and nowadays is not felt by many?  These are questions we may never be able to answer.

Pagans and other alternative thinkers believe that the Gods and Goddesses or other Spirits of Place are very much alive in West Cornwall. They will tell you that when they visit an ancient site they are able to connect to the Land, Nature and the Ancestors in a way that is a powerful, life changing experience. 

To many of these researchers, the whole network of sites is as important as any individual site. We are fortunate to have so many of our sites remaining, but this network of ancient sites is a finite resource. There is pressure on them from tourism, farmers and other landowners. In order to preserve the special feelings that many of us experience, we have to preserve the sites thereby retaining the features which make west Cornwall such a special, magical place.

Many people now consider that a significant number of the ancient sites were built and used for the ritual and cultural customs of the particular era. Because of this, some groups and individuals still like to use the ancient sites for private or public modern rituals and celebrations. These are usually planned and executed in such a way that they have no lasting impact on the structure of these ancient sites. Nevertheless, some people do leave objects at ancient sites, and this appears to indicate that not all pagan minded people respect the archaeology of ancient sites. Non biodegradable items and crystals are classed by CASPN as litter.  Our message to the world is ‘ Don’t change the site, let the site change you’.

Historic England is the public body that helps people care for, enjoy and celebrate the historic environment, working with both communities and specialists. Historic England endeavours to share knowledge and skills to inspire interest, care and conservation, to look after the history that surrounds us all, both now and for future generations.  There is much useful information about Historic England’s role on their website: https://historicengland.org.uk

At the heart of Historic England’s role is the National Heritage List.  This is a list of the most outstanding elements of the historic environment which are protected through designation.  The list is constantly growing and evolving.  Scheduled Monuments, Listed Buildings, Conservation Areas, Designated Battlefields, Registered Parks and Gardens and Protected Wrecks are all included in the list and receive legal protection.  Those sites which are deemed to be ‘at risk’ may be included on the Heritage and Risk register and receive special priority for action and funding.  We work with owners, friends groups, developers and other stakeholders to find solutions for ‘at risk’ historic places and sites across England and of course Cornwall!

https://historicengland.org.uk/advice/heritage-at-risk/

West Penwith has a particularly rich archaeological heritage with its great concentration of scheduled sites and monuments. Uniquely this peninsula at the end of the land has preserved not only ancient settlements but also the field systems which were worked by the people.  Prehistoric fields are still to be found on rough ground and also in in many parts of the modern field system especially along the north coast.  Settlements within their their accompanying fields extend from the Middle Bronze Age through the Iron Age and Romano-British periods and beyond to both mediaeval and post mediaeval times.  Prehistoric round houses are clearly visible in many places as are Romano-British courtyard houses, a more elaborate form of dwelling so far found only in West Penwith and the Isles of Scilly.  This landscape has been described by distinguished antiquarians, surveyed extensively by archaeologists and its field remains revealed by air-photography.

This remarkable area is host to an impressive range of great stone monuments dating from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age.   Such enigmatic structures as quoits, standing stones and stone circles excite the imagination and encourage speculation as to their purposes and interrelationships.  Explanations vary greatly: mathematical, astronomical, religious among them.

Also prominent in the West Penwith Landscape are cliff castles and hillforts.  These monuments are no longer considered to be evidence for endemic Iron Age warfare but rather places set apart by banks and ditches where ceremonies, meetings and trading contacts  took place.  Some have been found to contain round houses although habitation on a full time basis seems improbable.  Others may have begun as much earlier cairn enclosures. 

As in many other places some of the most common field remains are barrows and cairns which are to be found on the coastal margins, hill slopes and summits.  There is a great variety of these Bronze Age monuments and it is not always clear that all of them served a funerary purpose.  Many have been robbed or ‘investigated’ in the past without any record made.

Much of the ancient landscape and many of the sites and monuments on it have suffered the depredations of modern agriculture and industry although the latter has given rise in its turn to a fascinating mining landscape.  Stone and earth structures of all ages have been quarried  for building and fertile soil.  Today a significant part of Archaeology consists in the preservation and recording of what remains.  By the side of the professionals volunteer organisations such as CASPN play a vital part in protecting the sites from the scourge of bracken, bramble and gorse and promoting public awareness of what is here in West Penwith.