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Lankidden
St Keverne |
Kerrier
NGR: SW 7555 1650 |
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Lankidden cliff castle lies on an impressive headland on the south
Cornwall coast approximately one and a half kilometres east of
Kennack Sands. At this point the natural serpentine of the Lizard
area is cut by thick dyke (or sheet) of hard crystalline Gabbro
which terminates in the rugged stack at Carrick Luz, whose name
translated from the Cornish means ‘grey rock’.
As with the other cliff castles on the Cornish coast, Lankidden
dates from the Iron Age, being broadly contemporary with the
hillforts and rounds that formed such a prolific part of the Iron
Age landscape. Cliff castles were commonly created through the
construction of a single bank and ditch, sometimes with a lesser
external bank or counterscarp as at Lankidden. In some cases,
multiple banks or stone walls were also used.
Cliff castles resemble their inland hillfort neighbours in many
ways. Both have substantial earthwork defences and contain evidence
of domestic occupation such as pottery, hearths and houses. Both
types of sites would have commanded an element of prestige and would
have offered a degree of defensive protection to the community they
served. Where cliff castles are thought to differ from hillforts are
in their dramatic settings within the landscape. Natural sites held
a deep religious and ceremonial significance to Late Bronze Age and
Iron Age peoples and this would probably have been reflected in how
cliff castle sites were used and celebrated. They would probably
have served as a communal, ceremonial and protective focus for the
surrounding settlements and with their strategic coastal positions
would probably have served as important centres for trade and
exchange with foreign visitors.
It is not uncommon for cliff castle sites to show a continuous usage
through from earlier prehistoric times and Bronze Age barrows in
particular are often seen in association with them. Settlement
patterns surrounding cliff castles also suggest continuity of use
and at Lankidden there are the visible remains of a prehistoric
field system a short distance inland from the headland. It is
thought however, that the use of cliff castles was most likely to be
seasonal and/or reserved for occasional special purposes which drew
the surrounding community together. Following the Roman period in
Britain out of which came huge domestic and religious change, cliff
castles became largely disused. Whereas some hillforts enjoyed a
renewed period of occupation and modification during the changeover
from Roman to Early Mediæval periods, cliff castles show no
evidence of any further use until some later mediæval use as
sources of stone for building.
Access is via the coastal path from Kennack Sands or Coverack, or by
footpath from Arrowan to the north. There is open access over the
whole of the cliff castle. If approaching from Coverack it is also
possible to take in the neighbouring cliff castle site of
Chynalls
which lies to the east at Chynalls Point.Sources
Bird, E, 1998. The Coasts of Cornwall. Alexander Associates.
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Ground & Aerial photographs |
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