The Neolithic Period

It is worth emphasising that the Neolithic Period extends over 1500 years (c4000 -2500BC), during which time archaeologists speak of the greatest period of lifestyle changes, characterised by the introduction of agriculture and monument building.

Trying to encapsulate such a long period, during which so much change happened, in a short introduction such as this is not possible. This summary will, therefore, look at what you will see during your walks, that relate to this period, and try to set them into the context of the understood Neolithic culture of that time.

Essentially, the people of the Neolithic were transitioning from hunter-gatherer to early forms of farming. Animals such as cattle, sheep, pigs, and goats were introduced. They cleared significant low-lying areas of woodland for their animals and to prepare soil for arable produce. Higher level areas such as the Bodmin Moor, were used or exploited rather as their Mesolithic Ancestors had, that is they hunted for deer and perhaps used it for summer animal grazing.

These were a people who had a sense of ancestral belonging in their landscape; a landscape in which they, and their ancestors, had invested so much. They had a sense of wonder about their environments and all within; they needed to draw on this sense of wonder and belonging to weld their community together and, most probably to make a statement to others that this land was theirs. Like so many early peoples, they did not have a sense of past, present or future; life and death were merely processions from a physical to a spiritual state; they believed they could commune with their ancestors.

It may help to understand this by the example of the Ancestral Pueblo Indians who descended into their Kivas for days while working themselves into a trance. In this state, they sought the guidance of their ancestors. They also retained a small hole in their houses called a Sipapu through which the ancestral spirit could return from mother earth into a physical form and eventually into the spirit of the new-born.

What you will see during your walks are the remains of these ideologies rather than evidence of settlement or economic use of the land because these people were still transient in their landscape; moving from one clearing to another, perhaps when that patch of land had been rendered unproductive.

They left a legacy of monuments in the landscape. Specifically, hill-top ceremonial enclosures and burial chambers. The latter took two forms in our immediate area; on lowland, earthen long-barrows (rarely in Cornwall) and, on Moorland, where there were plenty of stone, long-cairns. To the south of the Moor and further west still, smaller Portal Dolmen were used, called Quoits. The best known being Trethevy Quoit located near Darite, St Cleer. This is worth a special visit.

Archaeological evidence suggests that the Neolithic People laid the bodies of their dead in special enclosures, and later their skeletal remains gathered and entombed along with those of relatives who had died years before. It is also suggested the bones were removed from the tombs to be honoured as part of special ceremonies and later re-entombed.

There is just one long barrow in our region at Woolley, just to the north of Kilkhampton. They are rare in Cornwall but frequent in low-lying regions to the south of England. This does raise a question, why do we find a long earthen barrow at Woolley? Could it be that Neolithic people from the east followed the course of the Tamar to its highest point and there settled? This is for you to consider as you examine this extensive monument.

Of course, evidence of their lowland settlements or coastal activities has been lost to the modern plough, or coastal erosion. So much of what you will see is confined to the local Moors. Particularly the most prominent of all, Rough Tor, the second highest hill in Cornwall, capped by three Tors. That is, Rough Tor, Little Rough Tor and Showery Tor. The wonderful thing about this site is that you can park just below its western flank near Davidstow and take an easy walk to its summit, while taking in all the Neolithic and Bronze Age history around you.

In Neolithic times, the car park would be part of a woodland area, possibly of Oak and Hazel, bursting out on to open scrub and grass moorland. In front of you would be a long procession way (a cursus), still to be seen on your left today, heading or curving its way toward Little Rough Tor. As you reach the saddle between the hills the remains of the enclosure will become apparent. The central area enclosed within a series of entrances and low walls. To the right are levelled areas, cleared of stone where there is evidence of temporary huts constructed from timbers cut from the woods below.

At the north end, Showery Tor was enclosed by a large ring cairn which may have served a ceremonial function rather than burial in the Late Neolithic.

To your southwest, is Louden Hill on King Arthur’s Downs. Along its flanks is one of the largest long-cairns, significantly removed from the Rough Tor enclosure, yet focused on the Tor for ceremonial impact. Also on Louden Hill are two sets of stone circles, which probably came into being in the Middle to late Neolithic. And, to the south of Rough Tor is a further stone circle at Fernacre. Their purpose remains unclear but very probably formed part of major ceremonies, during ancestral worship or symbolic processions from the physical to the spiritual.

From this it is possibly to paint a number of images, functions and ceremonies around our iconic Tor. One of welding the community together in the building of the monument and giving them a sense of long heritage. And connecting them spiritually, through the medium of ritual and reverence of the remains of their ancestors preserved in the burial mounds.

Archaeologists believe the Tor Enclosures were major gathering sites for communities to come together to celebrate events and share goods and feasting. This would weld communities further together in common celebration and inter-group relations, resolve issues by feasting together or exchange of valued gifts such as polished axes and other wares, plus provide the opportunity for cross-fertilization of ideas. The significance of these structures were reinforced by their dominance in the visual landscape, by the procession ways leading to them and the sense of natural wonder; the mystery of the rising and setting of the sun and moon, of the forces of nature; from these heights they could look out over all their lands. These were places to be seen, visited for ceremonies, then tidied and left to nature and the spirits.

The Cornish Archaeological Unit (CAU) has done a great deal of research in recent years to raise awareness and interest in our wonderful prehistoric heritage, without which this summary would not have been possible. Unfortunately, so much of this heritage awaits detailed studies and dating. There are a number of books listed on this site to help those who like to read more.