If you had a pound for every neolithic stone circle in England, well, you’d actually have a bit of cash. More than you might think, anyway. Stonehenge is the most famous, obviously, but there are quite a few ancient stone circles across the country, and we haven’t even discovered all of them yet.
A new (and simultaneously extremely old) stone circle is currently being uncovered by archaeologists in Cornwall. The structure is the ‘ancient sacred heart’ of the county, according to experts, and could date back as far as 3,000 BCE – that makes it roughly 5,000 years old.
Castilly Henge is in central Cornwall, located just off the A30 near the little town of Bodmin and a half-hour drive from Newquay. It was originally discovered in 2022, but now after three years and a £42,000 donation to the Cornwall Heritage Trust from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, a full excavation of the site is finally going ahead.
What looks basically like a load of stones in a circle to us was actually a hugely important space for pre-historic tribes. Experts reckon the henge was constructed during the late neolithic period, and that its oval shape and central ditch indicate it may have ‘formed an amphitheatre-like setting for gatherings and ritual activities’. In the bronze age which followed, it maintained its significance and ‘several high-status burial mounds or barrows were built close by’.
Site manager Carolyn Kennett told the BBC: ‘Neolithic henges are incredibly rare, so this is a really exciting moment’. The excavation project will take a total of four weeks, and is due to come to an end very soon.
Once it’s done, the team hopes that the site can be opened up to the public. That will require further fundraising – £50,000 is the goal – so that the Cornwall Heritage Trust can purchase the site and protect it from nearby roads, infrastructure expansion, and fast-growing plants.
An ‘open day’ will be held on October 11. This’ll be an opportunity for ‘locals and those from all over Cornwall will be able to discover what’s been found – and what it means’. You don’t need a ticket and entry is free, so you can just turn up anytime between 11am and 3pm. More information on exact details, including how to get there, is available on the Cornwall Heritage Trust’s website now.
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