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Kynance Gate
Mullion |
Kerrier
NGR: SW 6859 1409 |
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The settlement of Kynance Gate lies on a gentle slope on the edge of
open moorland above a turbulent stream which runs down through a
rocky gorge to the sea. ‘Kynans’ is Cornish for narrow valley or
gorge and the site may well have been chosen for its easy
defensibility on the seaward side.
Excavation of the site has revealed an initial phase of occupation
in the Middle
Bronze Age starting around 1200 BC, which is focussed
around a prominent outcrop of the distinctive Serpentine bedrock. At
least two roundhouses with double faced walls constructed with large
slabs of stone and rubble infill were revealed; their roofs would
have been thatched with reeds collected from the valley below. A
‘paved surface’ surrounding the rocky outcrop had a number of small
open hearths, including two with flues, interpreted as furnaces or
kilns. Over 3,000 sherds of pottery were found, made from gabbroic
clay derived from the weathering of the local bedrock (a
coarse-grained basic intrusive rock known as Gabbro). Pots were made
in a style called Trevisker Ware, named from the site near Newquay
where it was first studied in detail. Other finds, including flints,
several spindle whorls, glass beads, a broken mould for casting axes
and a large number of ‘exotic’ stones and pebbles, may indicate that
the settlement supported a range of specialist crafts-people
including potters, and stone and metal workers. The serpentine
outcrop may also have had a symbolic or ritual significance. This
early settlement is thought to have been abandoned somewhere between
1000 and 600 BC (ie. Late Bronze Age to Early Iron Age).
The structural remains visible today date from a re-occupation of
the site during the
Iron Age through to the Roman Period. This later settlement consists
of two groups of stone-walled round houses; a northern group of five
freestanding houses and a southern group of nine round or oval
houses linked by low walls to form small courtyards. The southerly
group is also focussed around the Serpentine outcrop and evidence
suggests some re-occupation of the earlier Bronze Age houses as well
as the construction of new ones. An additional enclosed area forming
a terrace attached to the main courtyard area is thought to date
wholly to the later Iron Age phase of occupation.
The absence of any field systems in the vicinity of the site may
indicate that occupation at Kynance Gate was seasonal, based on a
system of summer grazing known as transhumance, a practice still
carried on in Alpine regions today. Farmers from permanent
settlements located in more fertile or sheltered areas would have
brought their flocks on to the moors and heaths to graze on fresh
summer pastures.
Today the site lies within a National Nature Reserve and an area
designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest and a Special
Area of Conservation due to the importance of the surrounding heathland. The serpentine outcrop in the centre of the settlement is
home to a rare species of lichen. The settlement itself is protected
as a Scheduled Monument.
Access to the monument is via the A3083 with parking at the National
Trust car park. A track then leads towards Kynance Cove with a
footpath running off north along the valley and crossing just to the
south of settlement.
Sources
Nowakowski, J, 2006. Kynance Gate – Summary of Archaeology.
Historic Environment Service, Cornwall County Council.
Preston-Jones, A, 19**. Kynance Gate Prehistoric Settlement.
Historic Environment Service, Cornwall County Council.
Thomas, I. 1957. The Lizard.
Thomas, I. and WA Creeth. 1960.
The Lizard. Vol 12, 8-13. |
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Ground & Aerial photographs |
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