In the 1840s, tin miners in the Cornish countryside stumbled upon a stone fogou, or underground passageway, a feature unique to the far west of Cornwall, instead of the precious metal they were seeking.
Fast forward two decades, and antiquarian and Liberal politician WC Borlase began excavations focusing solely on the fogou discovered by the miners.
A century later, in the swinging 60s, archaeologists expanded their exploration to the wider settlement.
This led to the discovery of the remnants of stone houses, and circular drainage gullies and potholes, that had been parts of early Iron Age timber roundhouses that had been destroyed.
The village was subsequently christened Carn Euny.
The exact timeline of habitation at Carn Euny remains a mystery. However, the houses and artefacts unearthed suggest that the village was occupied during the Iron Age and continued to be inhabited following the Roman invasion of England.
The variety in housing indicates continuous occupation throughout this period, starting with timber round-houses believed to have been constructed between 500 and 400 BC. These were later replaced with stone houses sometime in the first century BC.
Between the second and fourth centuries AD, these stone roundhouses gave way to larger ‘courtyard houses’, also made from stone. The ruins of these houses form much of what is seen at Carn Euny today.
Evidence indicates that the settlement was a hub for farming and possibly tin trading, with field boundaries suggesting that villagers cultivated oats and barley and reared animals such as sheep and goats.
The reason behind Carn Euny’s abandonment remains a mystery, but it appears that development within the village halted towards the end of the Roman occupation.
Several other ancient villages have been unearthed in the surrounding areas, including Chysauster Ancient Village, which was first inhabited nearly 2,000 years ago. Similar to Carn Euny, the reasons for Chysauster’s abandonment remain unknown.
Source: express.co.uk