Megaliths, Mênhirs and Stone Circles

The ancient sites of Cornwall can be organised into THREE main groupings:

Stone Age Henges and Megaliths

The most notable of the Stone Age henges is The Stripple Stones, located on the flanks of Hawks Tor, some 7 miles northeast of Bodmin - these stones originally formed a complete circle some 150 feet in diameter, made up of 28 granite stones set at equal intervals. There are far more Megalithic Chamber Tombs with concentrations in Penwith and on the Isles of Scilly. The most commonly visited (and photographed) are Lanyon Quoit; Chun Quoit; Mulfra (near Zennor); Ballowall Barrow (Carn Gluze) in Penwith and Trethevy (Liskeard); Giant's Frying Pan (Carwynnen near Troon). Scillonians can explore the well preserved Giant's Tomb above Porth Hellick [Grid ref. SV928108]; Innisidgen [Grid ref. SV922127] and Bant's Carn [Grid ref. SV910123] on St. Mary's. An excellent pair of guide books are The Modern Antiquarian by Julian Cope and Journey To The Stones - Mermaid to Merrymaid by Ian McNeil Cooke.

Holed stones are a lot rarer with only two notable examples - Mên-an-Tol near Morvah and the Tolvan Stone on private farmland near Gweek.

Bronze Age Barrows and Stone Circles

The major Bronze Age barrows are situated at Pelynt; West Taphouse; Newquay; Rillaton & Jericho in Cornwall, and Obadiah's Barrow on Gugh, Isles of Scilly [Grid ref. SV887085]

Well preserved Bronze Age Stone Circles are found in Penwith at The Merry Maidens (Boleigh); The Nine Maidens (Boscawen-ûn); Duloe Stone Circle (of white Quartzite) and at Tregeseal (The Dancing Stones). Bodmin Moor is home to The Hurlers and the Trippet Stones. The Hurlers are the remains of three ancient stone circles north of Liskeard .Legend has it that the local people were warned by local cleric St. Cleer not to play Hurling on the Sabbath, when they refused he turned all of them to stone as a warning to others. Bronze Age Long Stones (Mênhirs) are relatively common with the district of Penwith boasting almost 90 instances. The most famous being The Pipers (near Boleigh); The Blind Fiddler (near Sancreed); Tremenheer (near St. Keverne) and Boslow (near Pendeen). The Isles of Scilly have The Old Man of Gugh.

Iron Age Forts; Fogous and Cliff Castles

Check out the following Iron Age Hill Forts: Castle-an-Dinas; Castle Canyke; Chapel Carn Brea; Trencrom; Chûn Castle; Castle Dore. Fogous are quite widespread with notable ones at Pendeen Vau; Boleigh; Chysauster & Porthmeor. There is a fine Iron Age village with Bronze Age Fogou at Carn Euny (OS Explorer 102 at Grid ref. SW402288) - See the Friendly Map & Guide to exploring the Land's End Peninsula for a plan of the site and more information. Also check out the site of Bodrifty Iron Age Settlement, near Newmill, Penzance (OS Explorer 102 at Grid ref. SW445355) and Halangy Down Village on St. Mary's, Isles of Scilly. The following are Iron Age Cliff Castles: Trevelgue; Rumps Point; Maen Cliff Castle; Treryn Dinas; Kelsey Head and Gurnard's Head. Iron Age cemeteries have been discovered at Harlyn Bay; Chysauster and Porthmeor. More Photographs...