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Summary

Field system associated with the courtyard house settlement at Treen.

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument CO349: Ancient village 400yds (370m) SSE of Treen

Other References/Statuses

• National Mapping Programme (Morph No.): 293.48
• OS No. (OS Quarter-sheet and OS No.): SW43NW 12
• Primary Record No. (1985-2009): 30725.40
• SMR No. (OS Quarter-sheet and SMR No.): SW43NW 76-149

Monument Type(s):

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

Full description

Hirst in 1937 records banks of stone and earth enclosing very small plots which appear to be terraced and with evidence of recent cultivation (b1). The OS in 1961 record terraces in the field containing the courtyard houses (30725.1 - 30725.3), and in two fields to the east. In the two westerly fields terraces have an average height of 1.2m with stone revetment in places. There are remains of a field system to the west and south of the courtyard houses and some lynchets to the north. The field system is formed of low earth banks and some stones set on edge (h1). Russell in 1971 lists the extant remains of terraces (b2). Weatherhill in 1982 records small rectangular and sub-rectangular plots bounded by earth and stone banks up to 1.5m high, with gate gaps clearly visible, in the croft containing the courtyard houses. To the north and east are steep lynchets up to 2.1m high running east to the road. In uncultivated ground to the east are lynchets ranging from 0.9m to 2.7m but those in the cultivated field adjoining the road are much ploughed. The fragmentary remains of a system of low earth banks to the south contains fields and terraces covering an area of at least 4.8 hectares (h2, b4). Some boundaries are marked on the OS map (b3). They are part of a more extensive prehistoric field system (33524) partly sketch planned by Jeanette Ratcliffe in 1981 (h3, b5) and partly by Sandy Gerrard in 1985 (h4, b6, b7). The monument is included in the Schedule. The fields are visible on air photographs (p1-p6) and were plotted for the NMP.

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Site history:
1: 1961. PITCHER, GH / OS
2: 1975. WEATHERHILL, C / CCRA
3: 1981. RATCLIFFE, J / UNIVERSITY OF DURHAM
4: 1985. GERRARD, GAM / CAU
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<1> Hirst, FC, 1937, Courtyard House Sites in West Cornwall, VOL II, 96 (Bibliographic reference). SCO3594.

RAF, 1946, 3G/TUD/209/5043&5111 (Photographic Record). SCO10842.

<2> Russell, V, 1971, West Penwith Survey, 69 (Bibliographic reference). SCO4314.

NMR, 1977, SW4337/1/47-9 (Photographic Record). SCO16258.

<3> Ordnance Survey, 1970s, 1:10,000 OS Map (Cartographic materials). SCO4045.

NMR, 1979, SW4436/1/1&2 (Photographic Record). SCO16607.

NMR, 1979, SW4437/2/482 (Photographic Record). SCO16619.

<4> Weatherhill, C, 1982, Courtyard Houses of West Penwith. A Survey, 82, 84-85 (Bibliographic reference). SCO5029.

NMR, 1979, SW4337/4 (Photographic Record). SCO16605.

<5> Ratcliffe, J, 1981, Early Fields at Porthmeor and Treen (Ba Thesis) (Unpublished document). SCO4222.

<6> Cornwall Archaeological Unit, Field Drawing (GRE), GRE 121 (Cartographic materials). SCO5089.

NMR, 1979, SW4436//6/1 (Photographic Record). SCO16606.

<7> Cornwall Archaeological Unit, 198-, Drawing Archive, Hanging (GRH), GRH 684, SW 4337 (Cartographic materials). SCO5088.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events: none recorded

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