Ballowall Barrow
Encyclopedia
Cairn
Cairn is a term used mainly in the English-speaking world for a man-made pile of stones. It comes from the or . Cairns are found all over the world in uplands, on moorland, on mountaintops, near waterways and on sea cliffs, and also in barren desert and tundra areas...
(chambered tomb) which Ashbee (1982) and Hencken (1902–81) state contains several phases of use from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age. It is situated on the cliff top at Ballowall Common, near St Just
St Just in Penwith
St Just is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The parish encompasses the town of St Just and the nearby settlements of Trewellard, Pendeen and Kelynack: it is bounded by the parishes of Morvah to the north-east, Sancreed and Madron to the east, St Buryan and Sennen to...
in Cornwall, England, UK. It is also known as Carn Gluze Barrow.
It was first excavated in 1878 by William Copeland Borlase
William Copeland Borlase
William Copeland Borlase FSA was an antiquarian and Liberal politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1880 until 1887 when he was ruined by bankruptcy and scandal....
, when it was discovered under mining debris. A report by Sharpe (1999) states that there are several discrepancies in the accounts of the excavation work, some of the finds were lost and interpretation of the site is difficult. Reconstruction work which was done after the excavation to make the inside more accessible has further complicated the site. The site today is a confused mix of original and reconstructions introduced by Borlase. The finds from excavations are in stored in museums at Truro
Royal Institution of Cornwall
The Royal Institution of Cornwall was founded in Truro, Cornwall, United Kingdom, in 1818 as the Cornwall Literary and Philosophical Institution. The Institution was one of the earliest of seven similar societies established in England and Wales. The RIC moved to its present site in River Street...
, Cambridge and the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
The barrow is 72 feet (21.9 m) in diameter. The Cornwall and Scilly Historic Environment Record describes it as a central domed structure, containing cists and with a pit beneath, surrounded by an outer cairn also containing cists. An entrance grave is located in the external side of the outer cairn.
The construction of the site is unique in consisting of a combination of Neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
and Bronze age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
funerary rituals. A similar site was recorded by Borlase but its location has been lost.
The site is a protected Scheduled Monument (ref. number 15410). It was included in the Schedule on 10/8/1923 and the scheduling was updated on 22/2/1996. It is now in the guardianship of English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
.
In 1999 there was some controversy when members of a pressure group, the Revived Cornish Stannary Parliament, removed several signs bearing the English Heritage name,
The trio responsible were later bound over by magistrates and ordered to pay English Heritage £4,500 compensation.