Cornish Archaeol 6

SW 470384. The rediscovery and excavation of a monument lost since the late 19th cent, and reconsideration of the confused evidence from its neighbour, Zennor Quoit, prompt a reassessment of the whole class of Penwith Chamber Tombs. Both Sperris Quoit and Zennor produced token cremations, charcoal and flint artefacts, with rather undiagnostic pottery in primary association. Study of the main features of thirteen Penwith Chamber Tombs reveals that the only datable finds are not certainly primary. However, in five of the W Cornish examples the only internal feature was a pit, sometimes with charcoal or token cremations, suggesting this as the original rite. Morphological considerations and the slender evidence of the finds suggest a late, perhaps post-Neolithic date for the group, particularly as it may be related to Scilly entrance graves. Study has been hindered by the ruined or disturbed nature of the tombs.

The third season of excavations suggested that the earliest occupiers of the site built either light timber structures or, conceivably, turf-walled huts. There were well-made rab floors, sometimes superimposed, and stone-covered drains; incised and rouletted wares were in use. Many of these traces were obliterated by the stone buildings of later occupants. The fogou has been further explored; it certainly precedes the stone-building phase, and may be primary. Pollens from the fogou upcast indicated clearings in woodland, probably for pastoral use, but material beneath the later hut walls showed cereals and weeds of cultivation with fewer trees. Finds include Roman and later wares as well as Iron Age material.