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The Rumps
St Minver Highlands |
North Cornwall
NGR: SW 9340 8108 |
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The Rumps Cliff Castle is sited on a promontory formed from a band
of hard basaltic rock which was emplaced by undersea volcanic
activity when this whole area lay on the bed of an ancient ocean.
The rock exposures in the cliffs are of great interest to
geologists, but the headland is also rewarding to those interested
in the relatively recent events of the last two or three thousand
years!
The cliff castle exploits the narrow isthmus which links the twin
headlands to the mainland massif. During the Late Iron Age three
lines of ramparts were constructed, the innermost of which exploits
a natural fault line in the rocks. The ramparts represent at least
two phases of construction, with the inner rampart being the
earliest. The outer rampart is slighter and is separated by a gap
from the other two and may represent a later strengthening of the
defences. It has been proposed that this rampart may have been
topped with a wooden palisade. The ramparts are stone-faced with a
rubble fill. A single entrance is located more or less centrally,
and would have been approached by timber bridges across the ditches.
A complex gatehouse was constructed in wood, later rebuilt in stone,
and would have been furnished with solid timber gates.
Traces of round houses have been found both between the middle and
inner ramparts and in the interior and artefacts found during
excavations in the 1970s indicate two main phases of occupation,
beginning in the 2nd century BC and continuing into the 1st century
AD. The pottery assemblage included a large proportion of local
late-Iron Age ‘native wares’ made from the gabbroic clays of the
Lizard Peninsula. A range of vessel types was represented including
plain burnished ware and cordoned ware, and some decorated with
combed or rouletted designs (applied with a comb or a small
patterned roller). The stone artefacts included spindle whorls,
quern stones and thatch weights. In one of the hut circles, faint
traces on the floor were interpreted as the imprint of an upright
loom. A blue glass bead was found in the fill of the innermost ditch
and a large number of animal and bird bones were discovered, which
indicated the nature of the local diet, though in such a location we
might expect fish and seafood to be an important component.
Though cliff castles and 'rounds' are broadly contemporary, both being
exclusively late Iron Age in date, and though both appear to be
sited and designed with an eye for defence, it is likely that they
each had distinct functions and social emphases. The ramparts of
both may have been predominantly symbolic of the power and prestige
of the community, and whilst there is evidence for occupation within
types of site, the limited excavations so far carried out do not
allow for a detailed interpretation of the nature of the occupation
– was it permanent, seasonal or sporadic; was it associated with
ceremonial or symbolic activities or with more mundane things such
as agriculture or trade? Placed as they are, cliff castles would
have been ideal foci for trade and cross-channel relations and their
impressive natural setting may be another perhaps crucial factor in
understanding their significance. It seems that cliff castles were
often sited in places with a cultural significance inherited from
earlier periods and Bronze Age burial mounds are a common enough
feature of their interiors.
The Rumps cliff castle can be accessed via the coastal path or
public footpath inland from Pentire Farm.Sources
Brooks, RT, 1974. The Excavation of the Rumps Cliff Castle, St Minver,
Cornwall
in Cornish Archaeology 13, pp 5-50.
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Ground & Aerial photographs |
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