Bant's Carn is a

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

entrance grave Entrance grave is a type of Neolithic and early Bronze Age chamber tomb found primarily in Great Britain. The burial monument typically consisted of a circular mound bordered by a stone curb, erected over a rectangular burial chamber and access ...

located on a steep slope on the island of St Mary's in the

Isles of Scilly The Isles of Scilly (; kw, Syllan, ', or ) is an archipelago off the southwestern tip of Cornwall, England. One of the islands, St Agnes, is the most southerly point in Britain, being over further south than the most southerly point of the ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. The tomb is one of the best examples of a Scillonian entrance grave. Below Bant's Carn, lies the remains of the

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...

village of Halangy Down.

Description

Bant's Carn is situated on a steep slope on the island of St Mary's in the Isles of Scilly. Below the burial monument, lies the remains of the Iron Age village of Halangy Down. The tomb measures around in diameter and stands on a low platform across. The entrance is long and high, with no roof. It is separated from the burial chamber by a jamb. The chamber itself measures around in length and in width and height, with four large capstones serving as a roof. The carn is partially encircled by the remains of the platform, through which the passage leads indirectly to the chamber entrance.

History

The Isles of Scilly were originally settled during the Neolithic era, circa 2500 BC. Burials on the islands range in date from the later Neolithic period to the Middle

(2500-1000 BC). Over eighty entrance graves have been discovered on the Isles of Scilly; The majority of graves were built in the middle Bronze Age (1500 to 1000 BC). Bant's Carn is an excellent example of a Scillonian entrance grave. Excavated entrance graves typically contain human remains, cremation urns, and pottery fragments. Ban%27t_Cairn_drawing

The tomb was excavated in 1900 by

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

, George Bonsor. Bonsor found the tomb empty except for cremated human remains at the back of the chamber, along with sherds of

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...

and

pottery. Later restoration work in 1970, led by P. Ashbee, included re-setting the tomb's eastern capstone and southern portal stone. This work uncovered 140 decorated prehistoric pottery fragments from around the portal stone as well as two worked flints which were given to the Isles of Scily Museum in December 1976. Bonsor never published the results of his excavations on Scilly. In 1926 his friend and fellow archaeologist, Thomas Kendrick, then Assistant Keeper in the Department of British and Medieval Antiquities at the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

, visited Bonsor at his castle in

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. He discovered that Bonsor had kept his notes, drawings and finds from his excavations on Scilly. Kendrick convinced Bonsor to send several of the excavation finds to the British Museum. After Bonsor's death, his excavation plans and drawings were obtained for the museum. The plans played an important part in the restoration of Bant's Carn in 1970. The Bant's Carn site also includes remains of post-medieval

field systems The study of field systems (collections of fields) in landscape history is concerned with the size, shape and orientation of a number of fields. These are often adjacent, but may be separated by a later feature. Field systems by region Czech Republ ...

and other settlements. It, together with the nearby late Iron Age/Romano-British village of Halangy Down is now in the guardianship of

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

. A military battery built in 1905 also stands nearby.

References

{{Isles of Scilly History of the Isles of Scilly Prehistoric sites in Cornwall Stone Age sites in Cornwall English Heritage sites in the Isles of Scilly St Mary's, Isles of Scilly

Description

History

See also

References