Bartinney Castle
Encyclopedia
.
Bartinney Castle is an Iron Age
enclosure located in the Penwith
Peninsula of South West Cornwall
, it is surrounded by a circular earthworks standing on a hill surrounded by various archaeological prehistoric remains including ancient settlements, field systems, tumuli and Cairn
s.
One mile to the South West is Chapel Carn Brea
and a mile to the South East is Carn Euny
Iron Age
village and fogou
, and nearby Caer Bran
Hill Fort
and Sancreed Beacon
.
On the hill top is the remains of a circular bank about 250 feet across and an encircling ditch. This bank may have been much higher and there are suggestions the site could have been a sacred enclosure or Plen an Gwarry
, which was a type of amphitheatre
with rows of stone seats where feast days or Fire festival
s celebrating the Celtic solar God Belenos were held or mystery plays were staged. Other theories suggest a large disc barrow or an unfinished hill fort
, the outer wall is not high enough to have been of any defensive value. In the centre of the enclosure are three smaller circles arranged in a triangle originally made of contiguous stones which have since been removed. The largest of these is forty feet in diameter, the other two are about 25 and 30 feet across.
Local parish records suggest that Bartinney Castle was the site of a Celtic Fire festival
marking the harvest or Samhain
, the Celtic New Year's Day.
The name may also be derived from Tinne, the druid name for the Holly tree, the burning of which was associated with the death of the old year and the coming of the new one on Samhain
or 31 October. Tinne
also means a metal ingot or iron bar according to the Bríatharogam
.
Bartinney Castle is an Iron Age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
enclosure located in the Penwith
Penwith
Penwith was a local government district in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, whose council was based in Penzance. The district covered all of the Penwith peninsula, the toe-like promontory of land at the western end of Cornwall and which included an area of land to the east that fell outside the...
Peninsula of South West Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
, it is surrounded by a circular earthworks standing on a hill surrounded by various archaeological prehistoric remains including ancient settlements, field systems, tumuli and Cairn
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...
s.
One mile to the South West is Chapel Carn Brea
Chapel Carn Brea
Chapel Carn Brea is an elevated granite outcrop at the northern edge of the civil parish of St Buryan, Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is three miles south of St Just and two miles east of Sennen Cove...
and a mile to the South East is Carn Euny
Carn Euny
Carn Euny is an archaeological site near Sancreed, on the Penwith peninsula in Cornwall, United Kingdom with considerable evidence of both Iron Age and post-Iron Age settlement. Excavations on this site have shown that there was activity at Carn Euny as early as the Neolithic period...
Iron Age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
village and fogou
Fogou
A fogou or fougou is an underground, dry-stone structure found on Iron Age or Romano-British defended settlement sites in Cornwall. Fogous have similarities with souterrains or earth-houses of northern Europe and particularly Scotland including the Orkney Islands...
, and nearby Caer Bran
Caer Bran
Caer Bran Hill Fort is an archaeological site near Sancreed and Carn Euny Iron Age village, on the Penwith peninsula in Cornwall.It is a popular location for walkers and antiquarians because it commands a stunning 360 degree panorama of the entire Penwith peninsula which probably accounts for its...
Hill Fort
Hill fort
A hill fort is a type of earthworks used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze and Iron Ages. Some were used in the post-Roman period...
and Sancreed Beacon
Sancreed Beacon
Sancreed Beacon is a Bronze Age archaeological site near the village of Sancreed in the Penwith peninsula of Cornwall maintained by the Cornwall Heritage Trust...
.
On the hill top is the remains of a circular bank about 250 feet across and an encircling ditch. This bank may have been much higher and there are suggestions the site could have been a sacred enclosure or Plen an Gwarry
Plen an Gwarry
A Plen An Gwarry is a Cornish amphitheatre where mystery plays were staged, it is also an outdoor meeting place, sports arena, and may have had some religious significance related to the staging of festivals....
, which was a type of amphitheatre
Amphitheatre
An amphitheatre is an open-air venue used for entertainment and performances.There are two similar, but distinct, types of structure for which the word "amphitheatre" is used: Ancient Roman amphitheatres were large central performance spaces surrounded by ascending seating, and were commonly used...
with rows of stone seats where feast days or Fire festival
Fire Festival
"Fire Festival" should not be confused with the traditional Himatsuri fire festivals in JapanThe Fire Festival is an annual professional wrestling round-robin tournament held by Pro Wrestling ZERO1-MAX to determine the top wrestler in the promotion, typically contested in late July/early August...
s celebrating the Celtic solar God Belenos were held or mystery plays were staged. Other theories suggest a large disc barrow or an unfinished hill fort
Hill fort
A hill fort is a type of earthworks used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze and Iron Ages. Some were used in the post-Roman period...
, the outer wall is not high enough to have been of any defensive value. In the centre of the enclosure are three smaller circles arranged in a triangle originally made of contiguous stones which have since been removed. The largest of these is forty feet in diameter, the other two are about 25 and 30 feet across.
Local parish records suggest that Bartinney Castle was the site of a Celtic Fire festival
Fire Festival
"Fire Festival" should not be confused with the traditional Himatsuri fire festivals in JapanThe Fire Festival is an annual professional wrestling round-robin tournament held by Pro Wrestling ZERO1-MAX to determine the top wrestler in the promotion, typically contested in late July/early August...
marking the harvest or Samhain
Samhain
Samhain is a Gaelic harvest festival held on October 31–November 1. It was linked to festivals held around the same time in other Celtic cultures, and was popularised as the "Celtic New Year" from the late 19th century, following Sir John Rhys and Sir James Frazer...
, the Celtic New Year's Day.
The name Bartinè signifies the lighted eminence, or the hill of fires (Cornish - Bretanow). The Druids, it is said, had their fires on the eve of November, to which the people were obliged to resort and re-kindle the private fires in their houses from the consecrated fires of the Druids, the domestic fire having been for that purpose first carefully extinguished.
On Midsummer-day, in modern times, the inhabitants, of this parish were greeted with sounds resembling the discharge of musketry in different directions, proceeding from holes bored in rocks, which being charged with powder were exploded in succession; and on the same day a new flag was displayed on every mine, and the night was ushered in with noisy festivities, and bonfires blazing on many of the hills.
The name may also be derived from Tinne, the druid name for the Holly tree, the burning of which was associated with the death of the old year and the coming of the new one on Samhain
Samhain
Samhain is a Gaelic harvest festival held on October 31–November 1. It was linked to festivals held around the same time in other Celtic cultures, and was popularised as the "Celtic New Year" from the late 19th century, following Sir John Rhys and Sir James Frazer...
or 31 October. Tinne
Tinne
Tinne is the Irish name of the eighth letter of the Ogham alphabet, , meaning "ingot". Its phonetic value is [t]....
also means a metal ingot or iron bar according to the Bríatharogam
Bríatharogam
In Early Irish literature a Bríatharogam is a two word kenning which explains the meanings of the names of the letters of the Ogham alphabet. Three variant lists of bríatharogaim or 'word-oghams' have been preserved, dating to the Old Irish period...
.