ANCIENT EARTHWORKS 



too are traces of Saxon in the names of Newlyn, Crantock and Tre- 

 sausen. 1 Both these districts are comparatively low ground, in fact St. 

 Enoder is said to be the most level part of Cornwall, and both have 

 been long under cultivation. 



Mr. Peter includes as ' village entrenchments ' Tregeare in Eglo- 

 skerry, Warbstow burrows, Helsbury Beacon in Michaelstow, and Kelly 

 Rounds in Egloshayle, all of which have, in the Appendix to this 

 chapter, been placed among the hill castles as being more of that 

 character. 



There are in Cornwall three mediaeval castles which stand on the 

 summits of small partly artificial hills, viz. Launceston, Trematon and 

 Restormel. There may very possibly have been more primitive defences 

 on these hills originally, but there is now no trace, and the existence of 

 the more modern buildings do not allow them to be included in this 

 chapter. 



The two remaining classes into which the earthworks of Cornwall 

 are divided in the Appendix are Class IV., the long banks or dykes 

 which do not enclose a space, and Class V., the Plain-an-Gwariow. The 

 name, which is still in use in St. Just in Penwith, is applied to circular 

 enclosures or amphitheatres in which sports were held and the miracle 

 plays are said to have been acted. Gwennap Pit is included, but it 

 is possibly caused naturally by the running together of old mine workings. 

 Carew in his Survey of Cornwall in 1602 (p. 71) speaks of earthworks 

 of this class as though they were thrown up temporarily when and where 

 required, and Dr. Borlase 8 says, ' We have great numbers of them.' He 

 however mentions only two, St. Just (Antiq. 208) and Perran (Nat. Hist. 

 298), both of which are still in fair preservation. The two at Newlyn 

 East and Indian Queens (each of which is known locally as ' the Pit ') 

 were made about 60 years ago for religious meetings. They are still 

 used for this purpose and are carefully kept in good order. Although 

 not ancient they are included because they preserve the pattern of the 

 older works from which they were undoubtedly copied. Those at Ruan 

 Major, Ruan Minor and Landewednack have disappeared, while at 

 Redruth little or nothing remains but the name at the north end of the 

 town. 



EXPLANATION OF AUTHORITIES REFERRED TO 



Arch. Camb. = Archteologia Cambriensis (1863) 



Blight List = List of the Antiquities of Penwith and Kirrier, by J. T. Blight (1862) 



Bond = Typographical and Historical Sketches of the Boroughs of East and West Looe, by Thomas 



Bond (1823) 



Borlase = The Antiquities of Cornwall, by W. Borlase, LL.D., F.R.S. (1769) 

 Borlase Nat. Hist. = The Natural History of Cornwall, by W. Borlase, LL.D., F.R.S. (1758) 

 Buller = Statistical Account of the Parish of St. Just in Penwith, by Rev. John Buller, LL.B. 



(1842) 



C.A.A. = The Report of the Cambrian Archaeological Association (Visit to Cornwall) (1862) 

 Carew The Survey of Cornwall, by R. Carew (1602) 



1 Tre = ' a dwelling,' Sausen = ' Saxon.' * Antiquities, 207. 



i 457 58 



