The Excavation of an Iron Age Souterrain and Settlement at Carn Euny, Sancreed, Cornwall

Abstract

The ancient village of Carn Euny, formerly known as Chapel Euny, lies on a south-west slope just above the 500 foot contour in the parish of Sancreed in West Cornwall (fig. 1). The granite uplands of the region are rich in antiquities, as a glance at a recent survey shows (Russell 1971), not least those of the prehistoric period. The hill on which the site is situated is crowned by the circular Iron Age Fort of Caer Brane (pl. 27). Across the dry valley to the north-west rises the mass of Bartinny Down, with its barrows, while in the valley below the site near the hamlet of Brane is a small, well preserved entrance grave and other evidence of prehistoric activity. To the south-east about one mile away is the recently excavated village of Goldherring dating from the first few centuries of our era (Guthrie 1969). From later times, the holy well of St Uny and the former chapel which gave its name to the site, lie nearby to the west. The village contains a fine souterrain, locally known as a fogou, after a Cornish word meaning a cave (Thomas 1966, 79).Nothing appears to have been known of the settlement or Fogou before the first half of the 19th century when the existence of an unexplored fogou at Chapel Uny is first mentioned by the Reverend John Buller (1842), shortly followed by Edmonds (1849) who described to the Penzance Natural History and Antiquarian Society an ‘Ancient Cave’ which had been discovered by miners prospecting for tin.

Bog bodies

“…Analysis has suggested butter reaches its 'bog constituency' within a couple of years (Cronin et al 2007). In the UK, the Iron Age marks a considerable period of underground experimentation with cold storage: the fogoues of Cornwall and the souterrains of Ireland and Scotland, for example (Christie et al 1978;Armit 5.4 The Rosberry keg and bog butter, dating to 360-200 BC. All rights reserved and permission to use the figure must be obtained from the copyright holder.…”

Misplaced Monuments?: A Review of Ceremony and Monumentality in First Millennium Cal Bc Cornwall

“…Within the middle of the enclosure are three ring-cairns, including a large central example, which may have formed the focal point for the monument. As at Bartinney and Godolphin, the enclosure is situated above the prehistoric field systems and occupation areas, and it is located to the east of the Iron Age settlement of Carn Euny, which lies on the slope below it (Christie 1978). Weatherhill (1985, 39-40) suggested that the site was an unfinished Iron Age hillfort.…”

Archaeology and Environment of a Bronze Age Cairn and Prehistoric and Romano-British Field System at Chysauster, Gulval, near Penzance, Cornwall

“…2,11,12); and 150 m south of the nucleated settlement a ruinous fogou (souterrain) sits within an uninterpretable earthwork complex (Fig. 2, 13), which may be the remains of a courtyard house or an earlier settlement; Cornish fogous have been dated to the Iron Age (Christie 1978;Quinnell 1986, 119). If these are indeed all courtyard houses, are the nucleated and dispersed houses contemporaneous, or was there a major change in the pattern of settlement?…”