Prehistoric Penwith

C hun Quoit (pronounced Choon, from the Cornish Chy-woon = thehouse on the downs) lies on a high spot on the West Penwith moorsnear to Pendeen.

It is one of the earliest monuments in Cornwall, constructed inthe early Neolithic period (3500-2500 BC), soon after people begansettling down in the land, cultivating fields and domesticatinganimals, and beginning the great farming revolution.

If we walk up to the distinctive mushroom-shaped monument, eitherfrom the North Road, or from Trehyllis Farm, or from Keigwin nearPendeen, we may imagine the land stripped of all buildings, minehouses, and even megalithic monuments such as stone circles andstanding stones.

Chun Quoit predates all of these, and would have stood alone onthe hillside, watching over the prehistoric settlements in thefields and valleys below. The monument consists of a closed chamberof four slabs which lean inwards and support a convex capstone, andthe whole monument may have been at least partially covered with abarrow.

So why was it built here?

To these earliest inhabitants of West Penwith, it represented theplace of the ancestors.

The bones of the dead were probably placed inside the monument,and the shamans of the tribe may have gone there to meet with theirspirits in trance journeys and altered states of consciousness.

To these people, the dead and the living were all interconnected,and the site is also carefully positioned to observe the rays of themidwinter sun setting into the distinctive notch of Carn Kenidjackon the horizon, for about a week either side of the midwintersolstice (December 22nd this year).

If the monument had been built a few yards away in any direction,this beautiful piece of megalithic magic would not be visible in thesame way.

Five thousand years later, the alignment has only shifted byabout a sun's width, and it still sets into a notch today. ThisChristmas holiday, take a walk up there, and if the afternoon isclear, you can stand and see what the Neolithic people would haveseen at this dramatic spot all those thousands of years ago.

Cheryl Straffon is chair of Cornish Ancient Sites ProtectionNetwork. If you would like to help or get involved, call 01736-787186 or visit: them on the internet: www.cornishancientsites.com