Cornish Archaeol 10

[SX 103548]. The data in Radford's 1951 report are used to construct a plan of the structures excavated in relation to the whole site so as to allow readier comparison with post-Roman structures from recent excavations elsewhere. A review of the pottery stresses the absence of imported Mediterranean wares. It is concluded that the two halls, kitchen and granaries remain as "the most impressive `palace' in the West".

SX 161977. Excavation of three of the fifteen visible crofts revealed a sequence of houses showing four structural periods, probably of 10th to 14th centuries. The earliest remains were only postholes, gullies and hearths, whereas the second phase showed turf walls faced inside with wattle and daub and often rebuilt, latterly being divided into living quarters and byre. In late 12th/early 13th centuries a new phase developed with cob structures in a similar layout to their immediate predecessors. In the final occupation phase these were replaced in stone, and a blacksmith had a forge-pit there. The hamlet lay on a high ridge with good pasturage around. Croft boundary banks date to 13th century and relate to worsening weather conditions. Desertion may have been c mid-14th century. Pottery, of phases 3 and 4 only, included no glazed wares.