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Caer Euny
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Caer Euny (Carn Euny) was a small Celtic settlement in what today is known as Cornwall. The site was in use from approximately 400 BCE until post-Roman times (ca 300 CE).
  Caer Euny (Carn Euny) is a late-Iron Age settlement in the lands of the Dumnonii (near Sancreed, Penwith) and is remarkably preserved. There is some evidence that there was a late-Neolithic and Bronze Age settlement here, but the original timber structures were replaced with stone buildings some time before 1BC. The majority of the finds have been dated as late-Iron Age. At first glance there is just a hubble of grass covered stone walls but walking around you can imagine what life must have been like here and you can see the outlines of the huts that formed the courtyard houses. The sign, before you enter the site, says: "Carn Euny was a small farming hamlet, established around 500BC and continuing until around 300AD. The site was discovered by miners, prospecting for tin and the underground chamber (in Cornwall known as a fogou) was excavated in 1863-1868. The remnants of the houses were excavated in the 1920’s and 1960’s." W.C. Borlase, an antiquarian, investigated the site and excavated the fogou between 1863-1868. In the 1920’s the courthouses I and II were partially excavated by Dr. Favell and Canon Taylor, from the mid 60’s to the early 70’s another excavation campaign was carried out by Patricia Christie. Nine hut circles were investigated and the fogou and the corbelled chamber were repaired.  There are several courtyard houses, which remind you of the nearby Roman-British village of Chysauster. Each courtyard house has several rooms, accessed from a central courtyard, containing hearths and clay-lined storage pits. In the courtyard and between the houses there were even water-drainage channels. The villagers were most probably stock-breeders and hill-farmers, who supplemented their income by trade in tin at the nearby ancient port on Ictis (nowadays St. Michael’s Mount).Even though Carn Euny is less visited than the well-known settlement of Chysauster (to the North), what makes it more interesting is the (restored) fogou or underground chamber. This structure of uncertain function, is situated north-west of the courtyard houses I and IV and is nowadays entered through a relatively new entrance, about ‘only’ 200 years old.  What makes this fogou different is not only that it is in good condition, but it has a side passage off the main passage, leading to a round chamber that once had a corbelled roof. The corbelled chamber appears to be a unique structure, having no direct parallels with other fogous. The passageways extend 20 meters (ca. 66 ft) underground and are built of stone with massive stoneslabs as the roof. Inside, a little light comes through a hole in the roof. The stone walls are covered with a luminous lichen so that they seem to come alive with an irridescent sheen.There have been many questions about the use of a fogou. Some type of storage chamber or cold-store, but they had grainpits for that? A cattle byre? But first off, the cattle had to be very small and secondly why do it underground? Another explanation is as a refuge for an attack but it isn’t fortified. A broch would have suited that purpose better. Or maybe it served some ritual purpose? Noone is really sure, but it is intriguing.  A problem with the settlement of Carn Euny, and especially with the fogou, is the flooding. Water collects in the corbelled chamber and just inside the west entrance to the main passage, preventing access at this point. If you plan on visiting this site, bring your wellies because it can get rather muddy. Because these floodings occur several times a year, the English Heritage agreed to drainage improvement works.About 2 miles west of the settlement, you find the twin wells of St. Euny. On the left side of the path is a small well (the south well), with some steps leading down to a spring. This one is known as the Holy Well of St. Euny and once had a reputation for miraculous healing when washing in the well on the first 3 Wednesdays in May. It is known that services were held at the Well Chapel during the 18th century, but has been neglected since then. Another smaller well (the north well) can be found a few steps north-west, with the carved stones in the surrounding undergrowth of what once was the chapel. Text and graphics by Rubydragon Caledonii. Map and Icon by MacMorna Niafer. References and Resources: Prehistoric UK - Carn Euny - Cornwall (Website no longer available at prehistoric.org) Megalithics – Carn Euny Roman Britain – Carn Euny The Mystery of the Place (Carn Euny) by Ann Alexander Fogous Prehistoric Acoustics – Fougous |
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