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Two large, impressive enclosures, or earthworks, can be seen at Gear and Caer Vallack, near Helford in Cornwall. Sited on top of adjacent hills, they were thought by Victorian archaeologists to be Iron-Age hillforts. Though the local population knows them well, very little is understood about their origins. Were these enclosures indeed prehistoric strongholds as the Victorian archaeologists surmised? Time Team set out to find out.
Finding Hillforts with Stewart Ainsworth
Carenza - the Cornwall Connection
An early start to Day One sees the team engrossed in field-walking a ploughed area within the enclosure at Gear. Time Team digger Jenni Butterworth also gets an early start with a trench across the perimeter earthworks, while over at Caer Vallack, Carenza Lewis and her team open their first trench, also on an earthwork bank.
Geophysics results from the Gear field indicate that there could be the remains of a prehistoric roundhouse within the enclosure. Having got clearance from English Heritage inspector Ian Morrison, who is on hand because this is a scheduled ancient monument, Time Team digger Katie Hirst and Phil Harding open a trench over the anomaly. Just 25 centimetres down and the first archaeology is discovered: some fragments of Iron-Age pottery. The trench is extended. Over at Caer Vallack the geophysics results also indicate the presence of structures. Carenza opens her second trench over a potentially fruitful site identified by the plotted geophysics results.
The field walkers at Gear collect some good finds, including Neolithic and Bronze-Age flints. 'This proves that people were using this land long before the Iron Age,' says Phil. Meanwhile, more geophysics results have come in indicating that the higher ground within the enclosure at Gear contains even more features. By the end of the day Carenza has also discovered Iron-Age pottery at Caer Vallack. This means that the team has located evidence for activity during this period at both sites.
Day Two and with the mass of geophysics results from Gear a meeting is called to sort out a work strategy. It's decided to survey the whole area so that trenches can be plotted with more certainty. Jenni is getting on well with her trench, where she has found evidence for a rampart and ditch. Phil's trench has revealed the circular ditch of a roundhouse and evidence for a kiln. Over on the other hill, Carenza has found a rampart and rock cut ditch similar to Jenni's, but there is little evidence for settlement. A new trench is opened in an outer enclosure where survey results look promising. By the end of the day Carenza has uncovered the top of what looks like a large storage or rubbish pit.
Day Three sees the team moving up a gear (someone had to say it) as time is running out and geophysics anomalies are mounting. Mick Aston decides to place the final trench within the Gear enclosure over another suspected roundhouse. After excavating the pit at Caer Vallack, Carenza has discovered that it was probably a rubbish tip. It contains masses of Iron-Age pottery, which is decorated with groove patterns. Time is running out on this site and there is little hope of further excavation, but the team has discovered what it set out to find: that this site is of Iron Age date. The second roundhouse at Gear contains very fine Iron-Age pottery and the structure itself is well defined by the features in the ground.
The end of the excavation sees the experts honing their theories. Evidence from the ditches of both sites suggests that the occupation of the area started as early as the Bronze Age. It appears that a phase of expansion occurred during the Iron Age and that Gear developed into a large settlement, which would have been a social and economic centre covering a large area. The suggestion that Caer Vallack could have been a site for the higher echelons of society is also put forward. The end result is that Time Team achieved what it set out to do: it proved that both sites were definitely in use during the Iron Age.
'It's important to get the right maps,' says Stewart. 'These have a variety of names: Pathfinder, Explorer and Outdoor Leisure maps. They show all the features where clues are hidden – place names, roads, tracks, paths, buildings, fields, parish boundaries, and contours. I try to work out how an area has changed through time by looking at editions of maps of different dates. I look at the contours on the map and work out the lie of the land. I also look at how patterns of fields change. Regular boundaries often indicate modern fields; irregular boundaries, particularly areas of gently curving fields, can indicate earlier use of the land.'
'I like to look at the outside and surrounding landscape of a hillfort before going into the interior, it helps get the site into perspective,' he continues. 'I like to do my own rough plan first and then compare it with any existing work. That way I'm not influenced by what has been done before and I can look at the site with a fresh perspective. Then I compare my plans and notes with any other surveys.'
Often when archaeologists talk of structures we imagine standing buildings, but the reality is that most of the time they are referring to the evidence of structure, such as foundations and post holes. This is particularly true where timber (which rots away) was the main construction material used.
Apart from some rare stone-walled examples, no roundhouses from the Bronze and Iron ages survive above ground today. The majority of evidence is obtained when excavation takes place and post holes (literally, the holes into which the supporting posts were sunk) or circular slot trenches (trenches into which upright timbers were 'slotted') are revealed.
Apart from post holes and slot trenches, other features in the ground can also indicate the site of a roundhouse. These include burnt areas where an hearth would have been for heating and cooking, storage pits and even drainage; and drip gullies carved out to carry rain water running off the roof away from the house.
There are some slight regional differences in style and foundation plan, but most roundhouses tend to follow a similar design. By looking at the post hole or slot trench plan, and considering the various load-bearing properties of different woods of different sizes, assumptions can be made to determine what kind of roof could be supported by the foundations.
Everyone experienced the same problems in construction at the time, so the round shape is probably a combined result of technique, style, suitability for domestic life and a reflection of the social organisation at the time.
While most of the Time Team regulars must make do with names such as Tony, Mick and Phil, Carenza Lewis is blessed with something more interesting. So where does 'Carenza' come from?
The name translates from its Cornish origins as 'loving', the Cornish word for love being 'car' (the 'enz' is the present participle). This, in turn, comes from the same Euro-linguistic roots as words like caress or charity (or carita, for example, from the Italian). In fact, large parts of the Cornish language bear much closer relation than English to others descended from the Latin (notably the Spanish and Italian) because it retained links with Roman Europe after the departure of the Romans for much longer than other parts of Britain.
Carenza was told as a child that her name was Spanish, and that it had been brought over to England by survivors of the Spanish Armada. Shipwrecked off the Cornish coast, one of these had swum ashore (unlikely since few of the Spanish sailors could swim), married a local girl and named their daughter Karenza – the traditional Cornish spelling being with a 'K'. The name is found in the fictional Poldark family, which also hailed from Cornwall, although the character never appeared in the television series.
Neither Carenza nor her parents have any connection with Cornwall. Her mother knew a girl at school who was named Karenza and thought it would make a nice name for her daughter. Carenza's godfather's brother suggested it would look better spelt with a 'C'.