KING ARTHUR’S PLAGE IN PREHISTORY
Saxons was taken from the Kentish Chronicle (in Cantia); the stories of his family life and death were abstracted from the Life of St Germanus (a Sancto Germano); and the story of the fatherless boy and the magicians was an entirely separate unit, the Tale of Emrys (de Ambrosio). In an attempt to combine these different elements into an intelligible history, Nennius employed the technique known today as ‘cut and paste’ and, fortunately for us, preserved the identity of the pieces. Thus we have the following sequence: Kentish Chronicle, Part 1; Life of Saint Germanus, Part 1; Kentish Chronicle ,Part 2; Life of Saint Germanus, Part 2; (v) Tale of Emrys; (vi) Kentish Chronicle, Part 3; (vii) Life of Saint Germanus, Part 3. How many Vortigerns were there and when did they live? Which were genuine historical characters and which fabulous? Nennius, writing more than four-and-a-half centuries after the arrival of the Saxons, worked on the assumption that there was only one Vortigern. Geoffrey of Monmouth ,three centuries later again, saw no reason to disagree with him. Gildas , writing much nearer the time failed to mention Vortigern by name at all, just as he failed to mention Arthur. He did however refer to a ‘proud tyrant’ who, with his council, decided to
invite the Saxons over to combat his enemies in the north. The identity of this proud tyrant with Vortigern has been almost universally accepted. In essence, he is telling the same story as the Kentish Chronicle, though with a frustrating lack of the names of people and places. The identity of Vortigern presents us with two problems. Firstly, his name is not really a name at all but a title, meaning something like high chief. A twentieth-century example of such a title would be the German word Fuhrer, simply meaning leader, which Hitler transformed into something so terrible that even Vortigern looks positively tame by comparison. Secondly, with the Vortigern who brought in the Saxons ,we reach the limit of any sort of continuous history that can be based on British sources alone. Nennius complained that ‘the scholars of the island of Britain had no skill, and set down no record in books’, and, apart from oral tradition, Gildas, writing about An 540, is our earliest
source. I low much history would we know if we had no books and had to rely entirely on wh.it our parents and grandparents told us? We would know about the two World Wars and the British Empire and Queen
Vortigern:
Tyrant King 167
Victoria. We might have heard a story about Nelson putting a telescope to his blind eye, so that he could ignore a signalled order. We might have heard the bards reciting ‘Not a drum was heard, not a funeral note,
as his coruse to the ram part we hurried. ’ But the Napoleonic wars, to which these fragments of oral tradition relate, would have no real place in our know ledge of history. Oral tradition is a living art form and only
becomes relatively stable when it is eventually captured in written form . History, in any continuous form , would extend no more than a hundred years or so before our own time. Earlier traditions would have been progressively modified or lost. Return in to the time of Gildas, in the sixth century, real continuous history would have been restricted to the
troubles of the post-Roman period. The Roman occupation of Britain would have been a distant and hazy memory, associated with the decaying remains of the cities and towns, and anything earlier would have consisted of no more than disconnected legends and songs. Vortigern’s chief claim to a place in the history of the Wessex Stonehenge Ill-Hyperborean culture is the tradition , preserved by Geoffrey of Monmouth , of his involvem nt (on the losing side) in the disaster at the Cloister of Ambrius, which we have already considered in connection with the end of Stonehenge. While accepting that the Wessex Culture and the great age of Stonehenge together do not amount to a full-scale civilization, it was none the less instructive to consider a civilization model for their development. The same method may now be used to interpret the end of the age. For a human death, the causes may be considered under three main headings: natural causes, murder, suicide. What we are discussing is the
cause of death of a culture. Burgess considered murder by invasion and, finding no evidence for any invasion, decided to settle for death by natural causes. For some reason, the possibility o f suicide was never m entioned, though Toynbee found evidence for this in the deaths of many civilizations. Toynbee traced the demise of civilizations to ‘times of troubles’,
which often preceded the ultimate end by many centuries. Thus in the Hellenic civilization, which included the Koman Empire, had its time of troubles in the last four centuries he, starting with the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War in 431 . The establishment oi the Koman Empire arrested the decay of the Hellenic civilization In several (centuries, but KING ARTHUR’S PLACE IN PREHISTORY Saxons was taken from the Kentish Chronicle (in Cantia); the stories of his family life and death were abstracted from the Life of St Germanus (a Sancto Germano); and the story of the fatherless boy and the magicians was an entirely separate unit, the Tale of Emrys (de Ambrosio). In an attempt to com bine these different elements into an intelligible history, Nennius employed the technique known today as ‘cut and paste’ and, fortunately for us, preserved the identity o f the pieces. Thus we have the following sequence: (i) Kentish Chronicle, Part 1; (ii) Life of Saint Germanus, Part 1; (iii) Kentish Chronicle, Part 2; (iv) Life of Saint Germanus, Part 2; (v) Tale of Emrys; (vi) Kentish Chronicle, Part 3; (vii) Life of Saint Germanus, Part 3.How many Vortigerns were there and w hen did they live? Which were genuine historical characters and which fabulous? Nennius, writing more than four-and-a-half centuries after the arrival of the Saxons, worked on the assumption that there was only one Vortigern. Geoffrey
of Monmouth , three centuries later again, saw no reason to disagree with him . Gildas, writing much nearer the time,6 failed to mention Vortigern by name at all, just as he failed to mention A rthur. He did however refer to a ‘proudly rant’ who, with his council, decided to invite the Saxons over to com bat his enemies in the north. The identity of this proud tyrant with Vortigern has been almost universally accepted.In essence, he is telling the same story as the Kentish Chronicle, though with a frustrating lack of the names of people and places. The identity of Vortigern presents us with two problems. Firstly, his name is not really a name at all but a title, meaning something like high chief. A twentieth-century example of such a title would be the German word Fuhrer, simply meaning leader, which Hitler transformed into something so terrible that even Vortigern looks positively tame by comparison. Secondly, with the Vortigern who brought in the Saxons, we reach the limit of any sort of continuous history that can be based on British sources alone. Nennius complained that ‘the scholars of the island of Britain had no skill, and set down no record in books , and, apart from oral tradition, Gildas, w riting about An 540, is our earliest source. How much history would we know if we had no books and had to rely entirely on wh.it our parents and grandparents told us? We would know about the two World Wars and the British Empire and Queen
mentioned in the Welsh tale , Culhwich and Olwen , which may date from the eleventh century . The story describes the court , as being at Kelliwig in Kernyw the Welsh name for Cornwall , otherwise known as the kingdom of Dumnonia , including modern Devon . The hall is guarded by Glewlwyd Gafaelfawr , Arthur's porter , and Culhwich has difficulty gaining entrance , due to the special laws , that restrict entry once a feast has begun .
Though there is no description of the place , the implications of the story are of great wealth and splendour .
The story describes " Arthur's warriors " at the court in depth and says that:
"From here, one of his Warband, Drem , could see a gnat as far away as Scotland ; while another , Medyr , could shoot an arrow through the legs of a wren in Ireland "
Some of the Trioedd Ynys Prydein , or Welsh Triads , mention Arthur and "Three Tribal Thrones of the Island of Britain" and locate one of his courts at Kelliwick :
"Arthur as Chief Prince in Kelliwig in Kernyw, and Bishop Bytwini as Chief Bishop , and Caradog Freichfras as Chief Elder."
Caradoc was his chief elder at this court and that Bishop Bytwini or Bedwin was chief bishop.
This is one of the early triads found in Penarth , reflecting information recorded before Geoffrey of Monmouth . The same triad goes on to say Arthur's other courts were at Mynyw and Pen Rhionydd. The triads also state that at Kelliwig Mordred struck Gwenhwyfar a blow.
This may have led to the Battle of Camlann.
The early Welsh poem Pa gŵr yw'r porthor ; maybe also Arthur is a mythic figure also suggests that this court is entirely fictional.
Given the name means " forest grove... it may have originally been envisaged as somewhere Otherworldly (sacred groves being common in Celtic myth) and only later might a specific location have been ascribed to it."mention the court.
Celliwig was also known to the Cornish as well, as it appears as Kyllywyc in the Cornish-language play Beunans Ke, written perhaps around 1500. In the Iolo Manuscripts (1843) , a corpus of pseudo-medieval Welsh texts by the renowned literary forger and inventor of tradition Iolo Morganwg (1747–1826), Celliwig is referred as the former site of the "throne of Cornwall" but the text adds that it is now at Caervynyddawg (Caerfynyddog), a site which is otherwise unattested. A 1302 Cornish legal record mentions a 'Thomas de Kellewik' from west Cornwall, though his exact place of origin is unknown. Kelliwig was identified by some Cornish antiquaries from 1816 onwards with Callington (occasionally locally attested as 'Callywith') where the ancient monuments of Castlewich Henge and Cadson Bury ringfort are in close proximity. Their influence gave Callington its modern name in Common Cornish; Kelly Bray (Cornish:Kellibregh 'dappled grove') is located just to the north. Another suggestion at the time was Kelliwith.[citation needed] Other suggested locations include Gweek Wood [citation needed], and on the coast at Tintagel Barras Nose [ citation needed ] or Willapark.
Rachel Bromwich, the latest editor of the Welsh Triads, matched it to Kelly Rounds, a hill fort in the Cornish parish of Egloshayle. This had already been suggested by Charles Henderson in the Cornish Church Guide (1925) .
Intriguingly, the Ravenna Cosmography identifies a major regional Roman-era settlement as Nemetostatio in mnonicentral Dua ( identified with North Tawton, Devon) which would translate from Latin as 'The Outpost of the Sacred Grove(s)'.Not far away from the modern Cornish border is the village of Kelly in Devon which takes it name from an ancient local family, attested as far back as the 11th century.Outside Cornwall However there are also a number of places called Cernyw or containing that name in Wales, e.g. the place name Coedkernew (Coed Cernyw) in Newport.So it has been suggested that this court might be the hillfort of Llanmelin, near Caerwent. As Caradog is connected to the Kingdom of Gwent this might support this idea. There is also a farm called Gelliweg on the Llŷn peninsula in Gwynedd which one pair of Arthurian researchers and writers, Steven Blake and Scott Lloyd , argue may be the location . Celliwic as a fictional place ,,,,, Those who argue that Bodmin Moor by Gorlas. And this murdered King is by tradition also connected with another fortress roughly mid-way between Duloe and Roche - which are south of the Bodmin and Goss Moors respectively - for the field in which standsCastle Dore was called Carhurles meaning 'Gorlas's fortress'. It therefore seems that the chieftain could have preceded King Mark of the Tristan saga at this earthwork which is known to have been re-occupied in Gorlas's time having been abandoned during the Roman period . Assuming that the traditional link between the Arthurian and Tristan sagas could be factual and that King Mark DID succeed GORLAS and hold this southern territory by the sixth century, not only must Arthur's domain of Camlan, the oldest form of Camelot, and his stronghold Celliwic be sought elsewhere but the suggested area should be required to fulfil certain conditions in order to present itself a feasible proposition.
As Arthurian events would have taken place slightly before those of the Tristan saga, an Irish incursion should be in evidence for the saga's prologue depicts theCornish at loggerheads with Irish intruders; and a known Roman cavalry tradition is imperative if we are to believe that the proposed area could produce ahorse-borne, armour-clad warrior together with a Carlyon meaning 'camp of the legion' with which he was reputedly associated.
Moreover, the suggested district might the more convincingly offer itself were it adjacent to the easiest route out of Cornwall to facilitate movement up-country to a site where the Battle of Badon halted a seeming English advance westward. Finally, we should seek an Avalon for the dying King.
THE IRISH AND CARLYON
The place name Celliwic occurs not only in the Arthurian legend but also, as the variant Caellwig* in later Cornish history and is therefore certainly an area of the county and probably one of the Moorland. Although its site is in dispute, the signs are that It will eventually be permitted to settle where it already hovers between the hill forts of
96 35 32. 2
Killybury and Canyke-by-Callywith, that is in the Camel Valley. And this could be to the dismay of sceptics for Camlan also seems to fit this district. (*page IS)
too
Charters clearly demonstrate that the present misnomer A|len, by which the Rivoi Camel's tributary is known instead of by its correct name Laine, originally applied to the* Camel itself and was accurately rendered ALAN. As this River Alan or Camel twisted and turned, the Cornish epithet 'cam' meaning 'crooked' apparently prefixed not only the word 'heyle' meaning 'estuary' but also on occasion the name Alan. Thus, it would seem that the present name Camel is a corruption of one or both of the Cornish names for this river - Camheyle and CAMALAN. °
It might therefore be interesting to seek the required conditions in the Camel Valley. Of six known stones in Cornwall which are inscribed in the Irish script copipri-sing unconnected strokes and called Ogham, five are on Bodmin Moor and three of these in the Camel area. Should the sixth seem curiously remote from the others at Truro, w© maybe forgiven for remembering that one of Arthur's reputed battle sites was on the'River Treuroit.
However and regarding names on the three Camel Ogham stones, that at St. Endell ion-which also bears the early ChristianChi Rho symbol, 'XP‘,the first two letters of the Greek word for Christ - commemorates 'Brocagnus', identified^with the Irishman Brychanwho arrived inCornwall via Wales. Both names on the WorthyvaleOgham ston© are Roman as is the one on the St. Kew memorial.x
An Irish incursion is certainly evident as is also a lingering Roman usage. Th© latter is hardly surprising in an area where Roman road stones at Boscastle and Tintagell and a 'camp of the legion' at Tregear have been found. Moreover, even AFTER the Roman cavalry station at Nanstallon meaning'Vale of Alan'was abandoned, it is apparent that agents of Rome used the most accessible route to and fromEngland across this north coast district at least as late as the fourth century when the Tintagel stone was inscribed. Ami, as some 300 years of contact with Roman custom appears to have influenced the local
Dumnonii so that they seemingly copied the Tregear shape when they built their earthwork at St. Kew, it might reasonably be expected that they would also emulate Roman strategy.
THE ISLE OF AVALLEN
Properly rendered, Avalon is the Celtic word 'avallen' meaning 'apple trees'. Incorporated in several place names, it is included in the name Worthyvale which appeared as 'Guerdevalen1 in the Domesday Book showing that there was an Early English homestead by an orchard adjacent to the area known as Slaughterbridge at the head of the River Camel. In fact, this very district has been traditionally regarded as the setting of the final act of the Arthurian drama.
Such regard, however, has lately been swamped in the scorn which has been poured upon the local name'Arthur's Grave1 for the Ogham stone actually commemorating 'Latinos', upon reports of battle debris found there, and upon the Tintagel paraphernalia so that the mere whisper of Arthur's name in this part of Cornwall seems actionable under the recent Retail Descriptions Act'. Yet, when it is noticed that Worthyvale is virtually an isle amid streamlets and that the word slaughter, probably deriving from the Old English for'muddy', suggests thesurrounding land wasonce mire, it is hard not to suspect that there IS Avalon.
It may seem immaterial that thewoods of Camlanand perhaps even Avaloncannot be seen for the trees of scepticism. However, the Camel Valley which has close on 900 yearsof popular and possibly justifiable identification with the Arthurian legend is largely dependent upon tourism.
Surely time and money spent trying to prove Arthur elsewhere is notonly longoverdue, but might the more effectively be invested, in his traditional homeland where associations with him have yet to be CONVINCINGLY refuted'.
QUEST FOR SOULS
Time was when stories of Cornish saints were taken with the dose of salt reserved for thoseof the Arthurian and Tristan legends'.
Not so now for the likelihood of essential events of both actually taking place is increasingly accepted. If the militancy of Christianity represented in the Arthurian and Tristan sagas very naturally predominated during the reassertion of Dumnonian tribalism after the Romans had gone, its civilising power was to settle it through the influence of saintly colonists-
Hitherto, the search for living spacehad motivated the movement of peoples, now it was the quest for souls and missionaries from Ireland, Wales and Brittany were to nurture the infant Christianity conceived here in Roman times.
So many places on the map retain the names of these saints, the earliest of whom probably emanated from South) Wales where IItut had founded a monastic training school at LIantwit Ma jor in Glamorgan.
A reconstruction of possible events at Bodmin6could represent those in many a Cornish area during the fifth century.
The Celts of Bodmin's hill fort, Castle Canyke, might have noticed the arrival of a stranger in the valley below them at the east end of the present Priory Park.
Bearded and with the front of his head shaven leaving hair flowing long behind, the intruder would set about collecting stones and,wood which he would take to the spring.
Soon he would build a hut, set up a roughly carved standing stone and surround these and his well with a piled-stone wall; and there he would fast and pray for forty days.*
Then he must have visited them, his psalm-book swinging from his waist and the bell on his spade-topped staff sounding his approach. His name was Gwrin, or Guron, and he had journeyed from Wales by sea The fasting and praying were to dedicate his 'Ian1 or monastic enclosure, the stone was a cross to signify a Christian foundation and the hut was his oratory from which he would evangelise the district and which might become his shrine after death. As the people took to him, Guron would celebrate the sa
The vast plain occupies so much of the eye that even a large town set down upon it would appear a hamlet. But as we approach the pile, the mind gradually becomes impressed with its real character.
It is now the Chorea Gigantum—the Choir of Giants; and the tradition that Merlin the Magician brought the stones from Ireland is felt to be a poetical
homage to the greatness of the work which are standing and some prostrate, form the-somewhat confused circular mass in the centre of the plan.
Rud Hud Hudibras , welsh : Run baladr bras ,was a legendary king of the Britons as recounted by Geoffrey of Monmouth. He was the son of King Leil and ruled during a civil war.
During the waning years of Leil’s reign, the kingdom of the Britons became unstable, and civil war broke out. Rud Hud Hudibras became king after his father’s death and reigned for 39 years, ending the civil war and restoring peace to the kingdom. During his reign, he founded Kaerreint, later renamed Canterbury by the Angles. He is also said to have founded Kaerguenit (Winchester) and Paladur Castle (Shaftesbury). He was succeeded by his son Bladud.Geoffrey places Rud Hud Hudibras’ reign during the time Capys was king in Alba Longa and Haggai, Amos, Joel, and Azariah were prophesying in Israel. Haggai began his ministry around 520 BC, whilst Amos is said to have prophesied during the reigns of Uzziah of Judah and Jeroboam II, probably around 760 BC.
Magic = Hud
Magic mushroom = Madarch hud
Rud Hud Hudibras’ reign during the time Capys was king in Alba Longa and Haggai, Amos, Joel, and Azariah were prophesying in Israel.Haggai began his ministry around 520 BC, whilst Amos is said to have prophesied during the reigns of Uzziah of Judah and Jeroboam II, probably around 760 BC.
Family tree of the House of Brutus
Corineus
Brutus
Gwendolen Lo'c
Rud Hud Hudibras
BLADUD
SON OF LUD HUDIBRAS
EIGHTH KING OF THE BRITANS , FROM BRUTE , A GREAT PHILOSOPHER AND MATHEMATICIAN ; BRED AT ATHENS AND RECORDED THE FIRST DISCOVERER AND FOUNDER OFTHESE BATHSEIGHT HUNDRED AND SIXTY THREE YEARS BEFORE CHRIST.
THAT IS TWO THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED and SIXTY TWO YEARS TO THE PRESENT YEAR of 1699
Bladud was sent by his father to be educated in the liberal arts in Athens.
After his father’s death he returned,with four philosophers,and founded a university at Stamford in Lincolnshire , which flourished until it was suppressed by Saint Augustine of Canterbury on account of heresies which were taught there.
Supposedly he ruled for twenty years from 863 BC or perhaps 500 BC , in which time he builtKaerbadum or Caervaddon (Bath),creating the hot springs there by the use of magic.He dedicated the city to the goddess Athena or Minerva , and in honour of her lit undying fires , whose flames turned to balls of stone as they grew low , with new ones springing up in their stead :an embellishment of an account from the fourth-century writer Solinus ;Brutus , Rud Hud Hudibras (Welsh: Run baladr bras) was a legendary king of the Britons as recounted by Geoffrey of Monmouth. He was the son of King Leil and ruled during a civil war.
During the waning years of Leil’s reign, the kingdom of the Britons became unstable, and civil war broke out. Rud Hud Hudibras became king after his father’s death and reigned for 39 years, ending the civil war and restoring peace to the kingdom. During his reign, he founded Kaerreint, later renamed Canterbury by the Angles. He is also said to have founded Kaerguenit (Winchester) and Paladur Castle (Shaftesbury). He was succeeded by his son Bladud.
Geoffrey places Rud Hud Hudibras’ reign during the time Capys was king in Alba Longa and Haggai, Amos, Joel, and Azariah were prophesying in Israel. Haggai began his ministry around 520 BC, whilst Amos is said to have prophesied during the reigns of Uzziah of Judah and Jeroboam II, probably around 760 BC.
The Royal Stars and History
The four stars with their modern and ancient Persian names were:
Aldebaran (Tascheter) – vernal equinox (Watcher of the East)
Regulus (Venant) – summer solstice (Watcher of the North)
Antares (Satevis) – autumnal equinox
Fomalhaut (Haftorang/Hastorang) – winter solstice (Watcher of the South)
Magical birds of Welsh tradition , belonging to Drudwas ap Tryffin , often equated with griffins. They were given to him by his wife , a fairy woman , and could understand human speech ; they would also perform all that he commanded .
In a contest with Arthur , Drudwas ordered the birds to kill the first fighter to enter the battlefield . When Arthur himself was delayed from entering the fray, the birds attacked Drudwas himself the first to arrive, tearing his flesh to pieces.
In the poetry of the late medieval Beirdd yr Uchelwyr , the phrase Adar llwch Gwin was a synonym for hawks or falcons and a metaphor for strong, brave men.
The hall is guarded by Glewlwyd Gafaelfawr , Arthur's porter , and Culhwch has difficulty gaining entrance due to the special laws that restrict entry once a feast has begun.
Though there is no description of the place the implications of the story are of great wealth and splendour.
The story describes Arthur's warriors at the court in depth and says that :
"From here, one of his Warband, Drem, could see a gnat as far away as Scotland ; while another , Medyr , could shoot an arrow through the legs of a wren in Ireland!"
Some of the Trioedd Ynys Prydein , or Welsh Triads mention Arthur and
The NOBLE and JOYOUS HISTORY OF KING ARTHUR.
MORTE D’ARTHUR.
THE BOOK OF MERLIN AND OF UTHER PENDRAGON AND HIS SON ARTHUR
It befell in the days of the noble Uther Pendragon , when he was King of England , and so reigned , there was a mighty and a noble duke in Cornwall, that held long time war against him ;
and the duke was named the Duke of Tintagil.
And so by means King Uther sent for this duke, charging him to bring his wife with him, for she was called a right fair lady, and a passing wise, and Igraine was her name. So when the duke and his wife were come to the king, by the means of great lords, they were both accorded, and the king liked and loved this lady well, and made her great cheer out of measure, and desired to have lain by her. But she was a passing good woman, and would not assent to the king.
And then she told the duke, her husband, and said, “ I suppose that we were sent for that I should be dishonoured ;
wherefore, husband, I counsel you that we depart from hence suddenly, that we may ride all night to our own castle.
” And like as she had said, so they departed, that neither the king, nor none of his council, were aware of their departing.
As soon as King Uther knew of their departing so suddenly, he was wonderful wroth ; then he called to him his privy council, and told them of the sudden departing of the duke and his wife. Then they advised the king to send for the duke and his wife, by a great charge: “And, if he will not,” said they, “come at your commandment, then may ye do your best, for then have you a cause to make mighty war upon him.” So that was done, and the messengers had their answers, and that was this, shortly, “That neither he nor his wife would not come at him.” Then Neolithic, Beaker and “ Food Vessel : sherds from Rowberrow Cavern will be described later, were near it. With the pottery was a service of Hint implements wrought by shallow scaling, including part of a polished tool and barbed stone arrowheads. But undoubtedly the important feature of the industry here found was the presence of , pygmy flints ; though not quite the same as the earlier pygmies from King Arthur’s Cave they are probably derived from the Arthursian industry. They suggest that the indwellers in Rowberrow Cavern were the descendants of men who dwelt in Britain . They in turn perhaps were derived from the cave men of Old Stone Age.
Cheddar , Aas also produced an association of round bottomed Neolithic pottery, sherds of Beaker-ware, finely scaled flint implements and small fragments of a polished axe. Soldier’s Hole in Cheddar Gorge has so far given us a set of stone implements including a polished axe and a chipped stone spear-head.
The most significant Neolithic site in this district was found by the Somerset Archaeological Society under an overhanging rock in. Chelm’s Combe, Cheddar, where round bottomed bowls and the bones of the men who used them had survived. One of the bowls is of a Spanish type. The Neolithic men who dwelt in these seven caves had domestic beasts, but they hunted freely to augment their food stocks. Neolithic Man.
The description of the Palaeolithic man of Aveline’s Hole and Gough’s Cave could be used for the men from the Gloucestershire and Somersetshire long barrows and from Chelm’s Combe without much amending. Perhaps the main difference is that the long-barrow men had narrower faces than the cave men. Judging by the skeletons we have there is no reason to suppose that the long-barrow men were other than the descendants of the cave men. But this is a theory that needs testing by research in transitional stations. A skull was taken from Bisley long-barrow upon which the dangerous and delicate surgical operation of trepanning had been successfully performed.
It has been asserted that the Megalithic culture was carried across Europe by traders from the Near East who were in quest of gold, amber and pearls. They were dark broad-heads, and are known as Prospectors. Professor Fleure has discovered in Pembroke and South Cardigan, where Megaliths are numerous, numbers of men who may be their descendants. Never the less, no oriental Neolithic objects have appeared in the West of England and, moreover, the skeletons from the long-barrows all appear to belong to the distinctive native type. At this period it is probable that work began on the gold bearing gravel of Wicklow. For centuries this was the most important gold-field in Europe and this may account for the enormous number of flint axes and early bronze implements found in Ireland. But there are few signs of the gold trade in these parts. Trade there was: no one can walk across a ploughed field on Mendip without discovering a flint implement or flake. No flint is found naturally in the district, therefore, the presence of such enormous quantities on the land is testimony of settled conditions and an interchange of commodities in the New Stone and Bronze Ages. Die Megalithie stage certainly lasted into the early Bronze Age; the occurrence of Beaker-ware with Neolithic pottery is good evidence of that. Stonehenge itself was raised after the close of the New Stone Age. It is now well-known that the inner circle of blue stones was brought thence from Pembrokeshire. Perhaps they were ferried across the Severn estuary to Uphill or Worlehury and toiled along Mendip to the Wiltshire Downs by devout herdsmen.
72
GUIDE TO NORTH‘CORNWALL.
Camelford Road is the nearest station for Boscastle and Tintagel. Camelford. Omnibus Service to Tintagel several times daily. Fare, 1/6. Also to Boscastle. Fare, 1/6. Hotels.— King’s Arms, Darlington, and several inns. Special Coaching Excursion -see p. 73 The town of Camelford lies a mile and a half inland from the station, on the banks of the Camel. ON THE SUMMIT OF ROUGH TOR, CAMELFORD.
Camelford is an ancient town and closely associated with the romance of King Arthur. At Slaughter Bridge, between the station and the town, the armies of King Arthur and his nephew, Mordred the Usurper, met. Mordred was killed, and the king mortally wounded. Within recent years an attempt has been made to promote the interests of Camelford as a holiday resort. Its attractions are : elevated position, being seven hundred feet above sea-level; a line bracing air coming from the sea on one side and from moor*
Brass and Bronze.
So much similarity is observable in the modes of or ef working in the different combinations of copper with other metals, that the same description will apply pretty accurately to all of them.
In brass founding and br he working, for instance, the making of the moulds, the melting of the metal in furnaces, the casting and subsequent trimming and finishing, the rolling into sheets, pr ht the drawing into wire— all are conducted pretty nearly in the same way as for other metals.
The making of the the brass itself is, however, rather a delicate operation.
This metal consists of about two parts of copper to one cu ay of zinc ;
the proportion not being exactly equal in all specimens.
In the first place the copper is melted, then and poured into cold water, by which it is made to separate into small pieces varying from the size of a small shot , to that of a bean, and known as “ shot-copper.”
The mi to zinc is produced from a carbonate of the metal, called Cu ng “ calamine;”
this is broken into small pieces, heated to redness in a furnace, reduced to a fine pow’der, and m; rm w’ashed.
Any quantity of the powdered calamine is then mixed with three-fourths of its weight of “shotcopper,” and an amount of charcoal equal in bulk of, both .
The mixture is exposed to a strong heat in earthen crucibles for several hours;
at the end of fir elt which time the two kinds of metal have combined ce lys together in a liquid state, and the charcoal has disap- N ice peared. The brass, formed by the union of the two th ell metals, is poured either into large flat granite moulds, or tr< rer into smaller moulds of cast-iron, according as it is to be th xst afterwards rolled into sheets or cast into small articles. ti< Sometimes brass is made by the direct union of zinc th st- and copper; but this is a more difficult process than nc ed when calamine is employed instead of metallic zinc. th ilt Bronze, like bell-metal, is a mixture of copper and pf id, | tin, but the proportions depend partly on the pur- di lal | poses to wrhich it is to be applied, and partly on the of on i opinions of the maker or artist. Bronze is a term fre- sii » a | quently applied to the metal used for cannon, as wrell T ;es | as for statues ; and under this designation the French se ize | founders are said to emplojr, for cannon, a ratio of ar in- j 100 copper to 11 tin. Cymbals contain 78 copper to ar fly ■ 22 tin ; medals, 100 copper to about 10 tin; statues th is ;
(on Mr. Westmacott’s plan), gun-metal, with 30 per b( ? a I cent, of pure copper added to it. pi ice i The mode of proceeding in casting a bronze statue is is ill. much the same in principle as that of casting large bells, af ; is but with greater precautions in every part of the ope- T :er ration.
The making of the original model belongs to its [ry ! the highest department of art; for it is here that the ra or : sculptor show’s his consummate skill, by imparting to ei m- the lifeless clay almost a living expression : all beyond si: he this, although requiring a very high degree of care, is at ?e- still mechanical, and governed by mechanical rules. to
annoyance and disappointment. At length his labours seemed to be nearly at an end ; his mould was lowered into the pit, the furnace heated, and the metal thrown in. At this time, while a violent storm raged without, the roof of his study, as if to increase the confusion, caught fire; but, though ill and harassed, lie still directed the works and encouraged his assistants, till overcome by anxiety and fatigue he retired in a raging fever to lie down, leaving instructions respecting the opening of the mouth of the furnace and the running of the bronze.
He had not, he says, been reposing very long before one came running to him to announce evil tidings : the metal was melted, but would not run. He jumped from his bed, rushed to his studio like a madman, and threatened the lives of his assistants, wffio, being frightened, got out of his wra}% till one of them, to appease him, desired him to give his orders, and they wrould obey him at all risks. He commanded fresh fuel to be throwm into the furnace; and presently, to his satisfaction, the metal began to boil. Again, how- ever, it appeared thick and sluggish, and refused to run. He then ordered all the plates, dishes, and other articles of domestic use in his house to be brought to him, which he threw pell-mell on the metal; wffien it immediately became fluid, and the mould wras $pon filled. Fie adds that he fell down on his knees, and poured forth a fervent thanksgiving to Almighty God for the success that had crowned his exertions.”
Coining.
The process of coining may, in some respects, be ranked among those here treated; for copper is the metal most largely used for this purpose, though its intrinsic value is much less than that of the silver and gold employed. The metal for such purposes is in the first instance rolled out to the state of sheets; these sheets are cut up into blanks, and the blanks are stamped on both sides at once, by means of hard steel dies, one to give each side of the impress. A curious record of past times has been dug up among the Roman remains in Britain, viz., a sort of coin-mould or coin-die (Fig. 1083). This seems to consist of twro dies, one to give each side of the impress to a coin; the twro are so hinged together as enable the one to be brought down on the face of the other. Supposing a blank piece of metal to be placed between them, a smart blow from a hammer wrould give the double impress of a coin to it; but if metal in a semi-solid state (such as a soft kind of metal occasionally employed to produce “ cliche” medallions) were used, a slight pressure would suffice to give the impress. In another cut (Fig. 1089), copied from an old German print, a curious representation is given of a party of men busily engaged in coining, as it wras conducted in the rude style of former days. There is a furnace, containing the crucibles in which the metal is being melted; a man is hammering the cast metal into sheets ; another cutting the metal w ith a pair of shears ; another stamping by means of the die, aided by a boy; while the master-coiner, giving instructions to an assistant, seems to be keeping an account of the whole arrangements. The process of coining in the Mint of London is very different indeed from the above, and is considered to be unequalled in any other country. The metal is first brought to the state of oblong bars, and the processes which then follow are thus given in ‘ London/ No. 53 :— “ The bars, in a heated state, are first passed through the breaking-down rollers, which by their tremendous crushing powrer reduce them to only one- third their former thickness, and increase them propor- tionably in their length. They are now passed through the cold rollers, wdiich bring them nearly to the thickness of the coin required, when the last operation of this nature is performed by the draw-bench—a machine peculiar to our Mint, and which secures an extraordinary degree of accuracy and uniformity in the surface of the metal, and leaves it of the exact thickness desired. The cutting-out machines nowr begin their work. There are twelve of these engines in the elegant room set apart for them, all mounted on the same basement, and forming a circular range. Here the bars or strips are cut into pieces of the proper shape and weight for the coining-press, and then taken to the sizing-room to be separately w eighed, as w'ell as sounded on a circular piece of iron, to detect any flaw's. The protecting rim is next raised in the marking-room, and the pieces after blanching and annealing are ready for stamping. The coining-room is a magnificent looking place, W'ith its columns and its great iron beams, and the presses ranging along the solid stone basement. There are eight presses, each of them making, when required, sixty or seventy (or even more) strokes a minute; and at each stroke a blank is made a perfect coin— that is to say, stamped on both sides, and milled at the edge—
The archaeology of antimony mining: a resource assessment
In metallurgy, antimony was used in alloys for printer’s type, in the preparation of anti-friction metals and for hardening lead. It was also used as an alloy, at from 5 to 10 per cent, with tin in the production of Britannia metal. Antimony compounds were also used as a de-oxidiser and colourant in glass, pottery, pigments and dyes. From an early period antimony compounds were also used in cosmetics and for medicinal purposes, and, as such, can turn up in the archaeological record (Watson 2013, 21). A small number of mines in the 19th century and earlier, primarily in Cornwall, produced antimony concentrates as a co-product and a few were promoted with antimony as their principal product.
Geological background
The principal ore of antimony is the sulphide stibnite (Sb2S3) although the antimony-lead sulphosalt (PB4FeSb6S14) has been worked in some mines. The antimony at the Louisa Mine, in Dumfries and Galloway, is associated with stratiform
arsenopyrite-pyrite mineralisation in a Silurian greywacke sequence with similarities to that in the
Clontibret area, County Monaghan (Gallagher et al. 1983, 24). The latter is associated with gold, and
antimony has been associated with gold mineralisation in the vicinity of Port Isaac, Cornwall. Work by
Clayton and others (1990) links the antimony in that part of Cornwall to stratiform pre-granite
mineralisation and whilst there has been little or no investigation of antimony mineralisation in
south-east Cornwall it is probably of a similar origin (See Scrivener and Shepherd 1998 on stratiform
mineralisation in general in Cornwall). In Cumbria, to the north-east of Bassenthwaite, work by
Fortey and others (1984) again links the antimony to stratiform mineralisation similar to that in
Dumfries and Galloway.
Historical background
Very few mines in Britain produced antimony ores in significant quantities and they appear to have
been confined to Cornwall, Cumbria and parts of Scotland. Antimony mineral are reported elsewhere
but with no known record of production. In Cornwall, at Wheal Leigh near Pillaton to the north-west
of Saltash, antimony is said to have been worked from the late 16th century (Beer 1988, xxi). A mine
or mines in the Pillaton area reportedly produced 25 tons of ore in the 1770s and over 130 tons of ore
in the 1820s. Around Port Isaac in north Cornwall, and particularly in the parish of Endellion,
antimony was being worked by the mid-18th century with production levels from Wheal Boys in the
1770s of around 95 tons (De La Beche 1839, 615-16). Lysons’ (1814, 194-216, citing Pryce, Mineralogia
1
Cornub.) noted that a works for producing regulus of antimony was set up by a Mr. Reed at Feock,
close to Falmouth, and De La Beche (1839, 616) gives a date of 1778 for the works. A small number of
mines in both these areas of Cornwall continued to produce small amounts of antimony ore in the
second half of the 19th century (Burt et al 1987, xxxii). Small amounts of ore were also produced from
mines in Cumbria, to the north-east Bassenthwaite on the western edge of the Caldbeck Fells. These
were worked prior to 1816 (Lysons 1816, cxi) and again in the 1840s but information on the extent of
those workings is limited.
The best study of antimony mining and the processing of the ores in Britain comes from the south
west of Scotland and the working of the Louisa Mine at Glendining, in Dumfries and Galloway, and
the work there can inform that which should be carried out in England. The history of the Louisa
Mine, the antimony at which was first worked in 1793, was researched by McCracken (1965) at about
the same period that it was examined by Charles Daniel in connection with other work in the area.
Slag from the smelting process on site was analysed by Tylecote (1983), and the site was subsequently
surveyed and included in the RCAHMS publication on the historic landscape of eastern Dumfrieshire
(RCAHMS 1997, 276-77).
Technological background
The mining and ore preparation methods employed in working antimony ores were little different to
those used in the other hard rock non-ferrous metal mining sectors. Stibnite, the antimony sulphide,
had a specific gravity well below that of galena, the lead sulphide, with which it was commonly found
in mixed ore deposits and could therefore be easily separate by conventional methods. Jamesonite, the
antimony-lead sulphosalt, was a different matter with the lead and antimony in chemical combination,
where the antimony would be separated after smelting. Smelting of antimony ores to a metallic
regulus was a specialist liquation process, carried out on site at Glendining in the 1790s and described
in detail in the contemporary Statistical Account of Scotland (Sinclair 1791-99, II, 525-27). The process
was evidently also carried out on at least one mine in Cornwall, Pengenna, near Port Isaac, where ‘old
smelting works remain at Watergate, near the adit mouth, where much slag, rich in antimony, still
lies’ (Dewey 1920, 50). Processing was also carried out at Feock in Cornwall, albeit away from the
mining sites (Lysons 1814, 194-216) but little detail is available and the site of the process has not
been investigated.
Given that the presence of antimony could be a significant contaminant in lead, hardening it to the
extent that it was brittle and no longer malleable; many producers were at pains to remove it.
Softening hearths where antimony and other contaminants would be removed might be found at a
number of lead smelters and Gill (2001, 95-96) describes such a hearth at Old Gang, Swaledale,
confusingly known as the ‘Silver House’ although, as the process involved skimming contaminants
from the surface of lead maintained in a molten state, it may have been confused with the Pattinson
2
process for silver enrichment. There is, however, no evidence that the antimony was recovered as a
marketable product.
Infrastructure associated with antimony production
There is no evidence of any elements within the infrastructure of mining in England which specifically
supported the production of antimony. In Scotland, however, the settlement of Jamestown, in the
parish of Westerkirk, Dumfries and Galloway, was built by the company operating the Louisa Mine in
the 1790s along with an access road and bridges. The company also instituted a miners’ library in
Jamestown which still survives (McCracken 1965, 143-44 and Appendix).
Archaeological assessment
There has, as yet, been no archaeological investigation of antimony mines or the preparation and
smelting of antimony ores in England. The limited amount of investigation done at Glendining, in
Scotland, (RCAHMS 1997, 276-77) including analysis of the slag from the smelter carried out by
Tylecote (1983), with the benefit of a contemporary account of operations in the 1790s (Sinclair 1791
99, II, 525-27), could provide information relevant to the investigation of sites in England.
Acknowledgements
Thanks to Dave Williams and Mike Gill.
References
Beer, K E 1988 The Metalliferous Mining Region of South-West England, addenda and corrigenda. Keyworth:
BGS
Clayton R E, Scrivener R C and Stanley C J 1990 ‘Mineralogical and preliminary fluid inclusion studies of lead
antimony mineralisation in north Cornwall’ Proceedings of the Ussher Society 7.3, 258-62
http://ussher.org.uk/journal/90s/1990/documents/Clayton_et_al_1990.pdf [accessed 16 April 2013]
De La Beche, H T 1839 Report on the Geology of Cornwall, Devon and West Somerset. London
Dewey, H 1920 Arsenic and Antimony Ores, Memoirs of the Geological Survey, Special Reports on the Mineral
Resources of Great Britain 15. London: HMSO
Fortey N J, Ingham J D, Skilton, B R H, Young, B and Shepherd T, J 1984 ‘Antimony mineralisation at Wet
Swine Gill’, Caldbeck Fells, Cumbria. Proc Yorkshire Geol Soc 45, 59-65
Gallagher, M J, Stone, P, Kemp, A E S, Hills, M G, Jones, R C, Smith, R T, Peachey, D Vickers, B P, Parker, M
E, Rollin, K E and Skilton, B R H 1983 Stratabound arsenic and vein antimony mineralisation in
3
Silurian greywackes at Glendinning, south Scotland. London: BGS Mineral Reconnaissance Programme
59 [PDF document] URL http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/11855/1/WFMR83059.pdf [accessed 16 April 2013]
Gill, M C 2001 Swaledale, its Mines and Smeltmills. Ashbourne: Landmark
Lysons, D and Lysons, S 1816 Magna Britannia: volume 4: Cumberland. London [Web documents]
http://www.british-history.ac.uk/source.aspx?pubid=404 [accessed 18 April 2013]
McCracken, A 1965 ‘The Glendining Antimony Mine (Louisa Mine)’, Trans Dumfrieshire and Galloway Nat Hist
and Antiq Soc, 3.42, 140-48
Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS) 1997 Eastern Dumfrieshire:
an archaeological landscape. Edinburgh: HMSO
Scrivener, R C and Shepherd, T J 1998 ‘Mineralization’ in E B Se1wood, E M Durrance and C M Bristow (eds)
The Geology of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. 36-57. Exeter: UEP
Sinclair, J 1791-99 Statistical Account of Scotland. 21 vols, Edinburgh
Tylecote, R F 1983 ‘Scottish Antimony’ Proc Soc of Antiquaries of Scotland 113, 645-46
Watson, B 2013 ‘The Princess in the Police Station’, British Archaeology May-June 2013, 20-23
Heritage Category:
List Entry No :
Scheduling
1006633
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District: Cornwall
Parish:St. Winnow
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Rivers and navigable creeks, p. 36. Tamar, Lynher, p. 38. Tide, or Tidi, p. 40. Seaton, ib.
Loo, or Eaft-Loo, ibid. ProfpoCt of Loo Bridge," ib. Duloo, or Weft Loo river, p. 41. fawy, ib.
Fal, 42, and it’s harbour. Hel, or Heyl river in Kerricr, p. 43. Lo or Low river in Kerrier, p 44.
A1
Heyl in Penwith, ibid. Ganal creek, p. 45. River Alan, al Lamel, ibid. Wade navigable rivers in
may be made notbeneficial, p. 47. Subject: to obftrudtions, p. 49.