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Summary

Extensive remains of a courtyard house settlement.

Protected Status: None recorded

Other References/Statuses

• OS No. (OS Quarter-sheet and OS No.): SW43SE 23
• Primary Record No. (1985-2009): 16180
• SMR No. (OS Quarter-sheet and SMR No.): SW43SE 1

Monument Type(s):

• SETTLEMENT (Iron Age - 800 BC to 42 AD)
• SETTLEMENT (Romano British - 43 AD to 409 AD)

Full description

On the south slope of Mulfra Hill is a settlement comprised of at least four courtyard houses, and other structures which appear to be hut circles or more courtyard houses. The four identifiable courtyard houses (a-d) have been surveyed by the OS (h3). One of the courtyard houses is Scheduled (16180.01) (h1, h4) and another (16180.02) was partially excavated in 1954 and indicated occupation from the 1st to 3rd century AD (h2, b6). The settlement is very overgrown in parts with bracken, blackthorn and gorse and it is feasible that additional house structures remain as yet undiscovered. Large scale survey is required, but will only be possible after some vegetation clearance (JR). The settlement is associated with a field system which survived in the surrounding modern fields and croft (16181).

--------------------------------
Site history:
1: 1938. ANDREW, CKG / IAM
3: 1960. QUINNELL, NV / OS
4: 1979. SHEPPARD, PA / IAM
5: 1986. RATCLIFFE, J / CAU
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<1> UNKNOWN, 1---, VOL OF MISC EXTRACTS, DRAWINGS AND PRINTS (Unedited Source). SCO5375.

<2> Borlase, W, 1740, Parochial Memoranda (Unpublished document). SCO2884.

<3> Blight, JT, 18--, Volume of Material Collected by WC Borlase (Unpublished document). SCO2871.

<4> Henderson, C, 1914, Notebooks of Parochial Antiquities, VOL II (Unpublished document). SCO3503.

<5> HIRST, FC, 1937, UNKNOWN TITLE, VOL 2, 3RD SERIES, 96, FIG 1, 72 (Unedited Source). SCO7279.

<6> Thomas, AC, 1963, Trial Excavations at Mulfra Vean, VOL 2, 23-28, 62 (Article in Journal). SCO4641.

<7> Thomas, AC (Ed), 1966, Rural Settlement in Roman Britain, NO 7, 78 (Bibliographic reference). SCO5162.

<8> Russell, V, 1971, West Penwith Survey, 51 (Bibliographic reference). SCO4314.

<9> Cornwall Archaeological Unit, Field Drawing (GRE), GRE 1/14, 1/26 (Cartographic materials). SCO5089.

<10> Cornwall Archaeological Unit, 198-, Drawing Archive, Hanging (GRH), GRH 68/4/SW 4534 (Cartographic materials). SCO5088.

<11> Ordnance Survey, 1900s, 2nd Edition 6 Inch Map (Cartographic materials). SCO4051.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Finds

• FCO3767 - SHERD (Romano British - 43 AD to 409 AD)
• FCO2882 - UNIDENTIFIED OBJECT (Romano British - 43 AD to 409 AD)

Associated Events

• ECO2352 - Courtyard House Survey
• ECO6140 - Ancient Penwith Site Assessment Form
• ECO6165 - Ancient Penwith: an archaeological assessment of sites in West Penwith for the PLP (Ref: 2016R069)

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Associated Images

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