Cornwall during the Iron Age and - Cornwall Archaeological Society

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popularity of pewter table ware. It has long been recognized (Fox, 1964, 155) that the main British tin and pewter artefacts belong to the 3rd and 4th centuries AD. The possible official stamps on the Carnanton tin ingot (Warner, 1967) have been argued as evidence of Imperial control, although a recent review is more sceptical (Beagrie, 1985). The five Cornish milestones inscribed to Roman Emperors of the 3rd and early 4th centuries have been seen as evidence of increased interest in local communications by central authority because of the growing importance of Cornish tin (Thomas, 1966, 91). (The milestones have been published by Collingwood and Wright, 1965, Nos 2230-2234). A number of unstamped plano-convex ingots of varying weights have been found in Roman contexts (Tylecote, 1966, 31). An ingot weighing about 12 kg was found in the 4th century midden at Trethurgy. The evidence, including a large number of ingots now destroyed, has been summarized by Penhallurick (1986, 219-221). Palynological evidence from old workings such as those at Colliford (S. Gerrard, pers.comm.) hints that the extent of surviving early tin workings may have been under-estimated. But was there an Imperial Cornish Tin Enterprise? The practice of letting out mineral rights was common, particularly after the initial military occupation, to agents or conductores (Salway, 1981, 633). Local Dumnonian leaders may have drawn on local skills, which presumably had never entirely ceased being practised, and taken the opportunity to enrich themselves by taking out licences as conductores, and sold some at least of the local tin through the official system. An official presence for the purchase of tin would account for the Carnanton ingot stamps and an improvement, if such there was, in the communication network. Some ensuing local prosperity may have been a factor in the general expansion of settlements in the later Roman period. Naturally the ingots found on domestic sites do not have stamps, as they never found their way, whether by intent or accident, into the official system. The success of societies of the Roman period in Cornwall can not be realistically appraised if compared to those of Somerset or Sussex. Disadvantaged by geographical isolation and the apparent lack of Roman establishments to serve as models, the Dumnonian life style naturally seems impoverished — no mosaics, no baths, no theatres. There was sufficient contact for gradual changes in life-style — oval houses with more open floor space, bowls and dishes indicating new eating habits. But because the Cornish Dumnonii continued in pre-Roman ways, slightly adapted, they may have remained socially more stable, escaping the difficulties that great differentials in wealth must have brought in the major villa areas. They appear to have been largely independent of a monetary economy. Consequently their settlements and life-style continued into the 5th and even the 6th century with comparatively little disruption. Further Work Knowledge of Dumnonia between c. 500 BC and 500 AD has increased considerably since 1962, with consequent new emphasis in research. This article is wrongly titled — it should really be called 'The Iron Age and Roman Periods in Mid- and West Cornwall'. A first priority is the completion of the data-base for settlement for the whole of the county, by continuance of the parish check-list programme, supplemented by aerial survey. Programmes of excavation on settlements both in south-east and north Cornwall are then needed. These could start with a series of trial excavations leading to the major investigation of an enclosed settlement in each area. No more work on sites west of Bodmin Moor should be sponsored until the geogrpahical balance is redressed. An exception is Carvossa, where the richness of earlier finds coupled with complexities in the earthwork sequence and possible military links, suggests that re-excavation should yield dateable stratified deposits. Exception could also be made for any other sites with good possibilities of stratified sequences, such as some of the complex earthworks plotted by Johnson and Rose (1982). 130
The question of Late Bronze Age and Earlier Iron Age settlement is still a county-wide problem. A trial excavation programme of hut circle settlements in sheltered or low-lying positions is indicated, but not in West Penwith where settlement, although geographically atypical, has received more than its share of attention so far. The new programme should concentrate on settlements with associated field systems and should be combined with detailed environmental studies backed up by radiocarbon dating. It is imperative that any excavation programme incorporates a full range of modern techniques, especially wet sieving, to retrieve evidence for agricultural practices. Further environmental studies, following up the work at Colliford, are necessary finally to pull perceptions of Cornish tin out of the realms of semi-myth to firm reality. Programmes requiring specialised knowledge but comparatively few resources are needed for the ceramic material. The South-Western Decorated pottery sequence needs more detailed analysis to establish whether there are detectable stylistic changes through time. Collections from Roman period sites should be examined to identify the full variety of non-Cornish products present. The range of future work offers something at every level, from the local field work so well done by the Society's amateur members, through to major programmes of research excavation. Acknowledgements I owe a great debt in the preparation of this paper to Miss P.M. Canyon, both for making the Carvossa material available and for arguing points relating to the Roman period. I am grateful to Mr P. Donaldson for allowing me to examine the finds and records of Trevelgue. The preliminary draft of the article was read by Mrs P.M. Christie, Mr P. Ashbee, Lady (Aileen) Fox, Dr V. Maxfield, Miss A. Preston-Jones and Mr P. Rose and I have benefitted greatly from their comments. Figs 5 and 6 were drawn by Miss S. Morris and the various drafts typed by Mrs J. Hutchings. Finally, Figs 2-4 were drawn by my husband Mr N.V. Quinnell; my thanks to him for these, and for general discussion and encouragement. Bibliography ApSimon, A.M. and Greenfield, E., 1972. 'The excavation of Bronze Age and Iron Age settlements at Trevisker, St Eval, Cornwall', Proc Prehist Soc 38, 302-381. Avery, M., 1972. Some Aspects of the Iron Age in South West Britain, Oxford University thesis. Avery, M., 1973. 'British La 'retie decorated pottery: an outline', Etudes Celtiques 13, 522 —551. Beagrie, N., 1983. 'The St Mawes ingot', Cornish Archaeol 22, 107-111. Beagrie, N., 1985. 'Some early tin ingots, ores and slags from Western Europe', J Hist Metal Stud 19-2, 162-81. Bell, M., 1984. 'Environmental archaeology in South West England' in H.C.M. Keeley (ed) Environmental Archaeology: A Regional Review, 42-54. Bidwell, P.T., 1979. The Legionary Bath-house and Basilica and Forum at Exeter, Exeter Archaeological Reports 1. Bidwell, P.T., 1980. Roman Exeter: Fortress and Town. Bidwell, P.T., forthcoming. Excavations of Roman Sites in Exeter 1971-80, Exeter Achaeological Reports 4. Brooks, R.T., 1974. 'The excavation of The Rumps cliff castle, St Minver, Cornwall', Cornish Archaeol 13, 5-50. Carlyon, P.M., 1981. 'Some second century AD finds from Widemouth Bay', Cornish Archaeol 20, 224-6. Canyon, P.M., 1982. 'A Romano-British site at Kilhallon, Tywardreath: excavation in 1975', Cornish Archaeol 21, 155 — 170. Christie, P.M., 1978. 'The excavation of an Iron Age souterrain and settlement at Cam Euny, Sancreed, Cornwall', Proc Prehist Soc 44, 309 — 434 . Christie, P.M., 1979. 'Cornish souterrains in the light of recent research', Bull Inst Archaeol Univ London 16, 187-213. Clark, E., 1961. Cornish Fogous. Coles, J.M. (ed), 1981. Somerset Levels Papers 7. 131
Page 1 and 2: CORNISH ARCHAEOLOGY No. 25 (1986) 5
Page 3 and 4: pottery from Trevelgue confirms the
Page 5 and 6: enclosure was apparently scantier.
Page 7 and 8: een occupied entirely within the La
Page 9 and 10: 420±70 be (HAR —238) suggested a
Page 11 and 12: it is only reasonable to accept tha
Page 13 and 14: whose ancestors had occupied hillfo
Page 15 and 16: AL •r, .4 •eakitiocto dp° •
Page 17 and 18: Fig 5 Trethurgy Round Period 2 c. A
Page 19: Exeter in the 3rd and 4th centuries
Page 23 and 24: McAvoy, F., 1980. 'Excavations of a

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