Brown Willy Cairns
Encyclopedia
Brown Willy Cairns are two cairn
s on the top of the peaks of Brown Willy
on Bodmin Moor
, a hill that is the highest point in Cornwall
in the UK
.
triangulation station
. It is the larger of the two and one of the tallest, standing around 5 metres (16.4 ft) high. The cairn is made up of stones that are similar to those found in all other Bodmin Moor cairns. The majority of these porphyritic
granite
slabs range in size between 30 centimetres (11.8 in) and 60 centimetres (2 ft) long, between 15 centimetres (5.9 in) and 30 centimetres (11.8 in) wide and between 10 centimetres (3.9 in) and 20 centimetres (7.9 in) deep, giving an estimated variation in weight between 12 kilograms (26.5 lb) and 30 kilograms (66.1 lb). Brown Willy South Cairn is approximately 17 metres (55.8 ft) in diameter
and might not have been much smaller than the Brown Willy Summit (North) Cairn when originally built.
classified ridge-top cairns such as these in the most common category a "bowl"- or "cone"-shaped tumulus
. He also referred to them as "sepulchral mounds" but admitted burials hadn't been found at many. Brown Willy Summit Cairn has never been excavated and folklore suggests an ancient Cornish king may lie entombed underneath. Nicholas Johnson and Peter Rose radiocarbon dated nine of the cairns on Bodmin Moor, eight gave mean date ranges between 2162 to 1746 cal BC
, suggesting the early bronze age
was the main building period for cairns of this type. These are amongst the most intact due to their remote and inaccessible location. Many rocks from similar cairns have been spoiled and removed over centuries of neglect to be re-used in dry stone walling and other local construction.
Rodney Castleton has suggested that from the centre of Stannon Stone Circle, the autumn equinox sun rises over Brown Willy North Cairn. and Christopher Tilley refers to a "dramatic association with Rough Tor
. These purported alignments have been taken as evidence of some astronomical purpose in cairn placement and construction.
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 on the top of the peaks of Brown Willy
Brown Willy
Brown Willy is a hill in Cornwall, United Kingdom. The summit is the highest point of Bodmin Moor and of Cornwall as a whole....
on Bodmin Moor
Bodmin Moor
Bodmin Moor is a granite moorland in northeastern Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is in size, and originally dates from the Carboniferous period of geological history....
, a hill that is the highest point in 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...
in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
Geology
Brown Willy Summit Cairn or Brown Willy North Cairn is a man made rock pile that sits alongside an Ordnance SurveyOrdnance Survey
Ordnance Survey , an executive agency and non-ministerial government department of the Government of the United Kingdom, is the national mapping agency for Great Britain, producing maps of Great Britain , and one of the world's largest producers of maps.The name reflects its creation together with...
triangulation station
Triangulation station
A triangulation station, also known as a triangulation pillar, trigonometrical station, trigonometrical point, trig station, trig beacon or trig point, and sometimes informally as a trig, is a fixed surveying station, used in geodetic surveying and other surveying projects in its vicinity...
. It is the larger of the two and one of the tallest, standing around 5 metres (16.4 ft) high. The cairn is made up of stones that are similar to those found in all other Bodmin Moor cairns. The majority of these porphyritic
Porphyritic
Porphyritic is an adjective used in geology, specifically for igneous rocks, for a rock that has a distinct difference in the size of the crystals, with at least one group of crystals obviously larger than another group...
granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
slabs range in size between 30 centimetres (11.8 in) and 60 centimetres (2 ft) long, between 15 centimetres (5.9 in) and 30 centimetres (11.8 in) wide and between 10 centimetres (3.9 in) and 20 centimetres (7.9 in) deep, giving an estimated variation in weight between 12 kilograms (26.5 lb) and 30 kilograms (66.1 lb). Brown Willy South Cairn is approximately 17 metres (55.8 ft) in diameter
Diameter
In geometry, a diameter of a circle is any straight line segment that passes through the center of the circle and whose endpoints are on the circle. The diameters are the longest chords of the circle...
and might not have been much smaller than the Brown Willy Summit (North) Cairn when originally built.
History
The Cornish word for "cairn" is karn (from karnow, meaning "rock piles"), and it has been suggested that Cornwall's ancient name Kernow is related. William Copeland BorlaseWilliam 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....
classified ridge-top cairns such as these in the most common category a "bowl"- or "cone"-shaped tumulus
Tumulus
A tumulus is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, Hügelgrab or kurgans, and can be found throughout much of the world. A tumulus composed largely or entirely of stones is usually referred to as a cairn...
. He also referred to them as "sepulchral mounds" but admitted burials hadn't been found at many. Brown Willy Summit Cairn has never been excavated and folklore suggests an ancient Cornish king may lie entombed underneath. Nicholas Johnson and Peter Rose radiocarbon dated nine of the cairns on Bodmin Moor, eight gave mean date ranges between 2162 to 1746 cal BC
Anno Domini
and Before Christ are designations used to label or number years used with the Julian and Gregorian calendars....
, suggesting the early 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...
was the main building period for cairns of this type. These are amongst the most intact due to their remote and inaccessible location. Many rocks from similar cairns have been spoiled and removed over centuries of neglect to be re-used in dry stone walling and other local construction.
Rodney Castleton has suggested that from the centre of Stannon Stone Circle, the autumn equinox sun rises over Brown Willy North Cairn. and Christopher Tilley refers to a "dramatic association with Rough Tor
Rough Tor
Rough Tor, or Roughtor, rowter, is a hill and tor on Bodmin Moor, Cornwall. Its summit is 1313 ft above mean sea level, making it the second highest point in Cornwall....
. These purported alignments have been taken as evidence of some astronomical purpose in cairn placement and construction.