Ancient dwellings unearthed at new housing estate
Bronze Age houses and a Roman-period settlement have been discovered at the site of a new housing development in Cornwall. Archaeologists from the Cornwall Archaeological Unit uncovered the ancient dwellings in Newquay and are said to be “really significant”. Unearthed were three Bronze Age roundhouses, a Roman-period settlement consisting of an oval house, a large processing area (thought to be used for cereals) and two rectangular buildings (probably former barns) at the site.
Sean Taylor, senior archaeologist at the Cornwall Archaeological Unit, said: “Although quite a few of these Bronze Age structures have been found at various sites around the county over the last 30 or so years starting with Trethellan at Newquay[1] in 1987, it’s still rare to find so much in one small area.” He added: “The Roman house is similar to buildings found at Trethurgy Round near St Austell in the 1970s and are of a type unique to Cornwall. The rectangular agricultural buildings on the other hand are fairly common throughout Roman Britain but this is the first time that they have been discovered in Cornwall.
“It’s starting to look like this part of Newquay, alongside the River Gannel, was a very important and densely populated area from the Neolithic (c 4000BC) onwards. The estuary undoubtedly formed an important link with the outside world throughout prehistory.”
Bronze Age Trevisker-ware pottery was uncovered during the dig (Image: Cornwall Council)
The Cornwall Archaeological Unit completed their work at the end of March. The site will now be handed over to the developer, Treveth.
It’s hoped that many of the finds discovered at the site, which include large quantities of Bronze Age Trevisker ware pottery, Roman-period imported pottery, and worked stone tools from both periods, will be housed in a local museum. Cllr Martyn Alvey, portfolio holder for environment and climate change at Cornwall Council[3], said: “These structures are really significant for Cornwall and it is fantastic to get a glimpse of what life was like in Newquay all those years ago. I hope that we are able to house many of the finds locally and look forward to hearing more about them.”
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References
- ^ Newquay (www.cornwalllive.com)
- ^ Cornwall golf club with sea views on sale for over GBP2.5m (www.cornwalllive.com)
- ^ Cornwall Council (www.cornwalllive.com)
- ^ here (www.cornwalllive.com)