Scillonian entrance grave
Encyclopedia
The entrance grave
s of Cornwall
and the Isles of Scilly
, and south east Ireland
are megalithic chamber tomb
s of the Neolithic
and early Bronze Age
in the British Isles
. Comparable sites are also known in Brittany
and the Channel Islands
. They are generally known as the Scillonian group as the greatest concentration of the tombs is found on the Isles of Scilly
.
Examples include Bant's Carn
and the Innisidgen and Porth Hellick Down
tombs, all on St Mary's.
They consist of a narrow entrance which leads into a rectangular burial chamber covered by a small round stone cairn
usually revetted with a kerb
. In some examples a sill
stone blocks the entrance. The walls of the chamber themselves are of either orthostat slabs or stone courses, covered with several large capstones. Both the cairn and the chamber often exploit natural stone outcrops or boulders in their construction.
Entrance orientations in Scillonian graves follow no discernible pattern and they appear to have been used for deposition of multiple cremation
and inhumation burials with up to 60 individuals found at Knackyboy Cairn on the island of St Martin's
. Occupation debris has also been found in the graves which implies that they were actively used sites possibly for wider ritual purposes and/or as territorial markers.
The small size and simplicity of these monuments compared with the more complex tombs being built elsewhere in Britain imply that the areas where they are found preserved older methods of burial. The earliest known finds from Scillonian entrance graves include fragments of middle Neolithic Carn Brea
type ware and have led some archaeologists such as Paul Ashbee
to argue that they are in fact of early Neolithic or even Mesolithic
date. Much of the Bronze Age material excavated from entrance graves is considered to be related to later re-use.
Entrance grave
Entrance grave is a term given by archaeologists to a type of megalithic chamber tomb found in parts of Atlantic Europe, dating the early to middle Bronze Age....
s of Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
and the Isles of Scilly
Isles of Scilly
The Isles of Scilly form an archipelago off the southwestern tip of the Cornish peninsula of Great Britain. The islands have had a unitary authority council since 1890, and are separate from the Cornwall unitary authority, but some services are combined with Cornwall and the islands are still part...
, and south east Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
are megalithic chamber tomb
Chamber tomb
A chamber tomb is a tomb for burial used in many different cultures. In the case of individual burials, the chamber is thought to signify a higher status for the interree than a simple grave. Built from rock or sometimes wood, the chambers could also serve as places for storage of the dead from one...
s of the Neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
and early Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
in the British Isles
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...
. Comparable sites are also known in Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
and the Channel Islands
Channel Islands
The Channel Islands are an archipelago of British Crown Dependencies in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two separate bailiwicks: the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey...
. They are generally known as the Scillonian group as the greatest concentration of the tombs is found on the Isles of Scilly
Isles of Scilly
The Isles of Scilly form an archipelago off the southwestern tip of the Cornish peninsula of Great Britain. The islands have had a unitary authority council since 1890, and are separate from the Cornwall unitary authority, but some services are combined with Cornwall and the islands are still part...
.
Examples include Bant's Carn
Bant's Carn
Bant's Carn is a Scillonian entrance grave on the island of St Mary's in the Isles of Scilly. A military battery built in 1905 also stands nearby....
and the Innisidgen and Porth Hellick Down
Porth Hellick Down
Porth Hellick Down is an area of downland on the east side of the island of St Mary's in the Isles of Scilly.Seven Scillonian entrance graves stand on the down in a general state of decay. The largest is the Great Tomb which has a 12m diameter and a central burial chamber 3m long and 1m high. An...
tombs, all on St Mary's.
They consist of a narrow entrance which leads into a rectangular burial chamber covered by a small round stone cairn
Cairn
Cairn is a term used mainly in the English-speaking world for a man-made pile of stones. It comes from the or . Cairns are found all over the world in uplands, on moorland, on mountaintops, near waterways and on sea cliffs, and also in barren desert and tundra areas...
usually revetted with a kerb
Megalithic architectural elements
This article describes several characteristic architectural elements typical of European megalithic structures.-Forecourt:In archaeology, a forecourt is the name given to the area in front of certain types of chamber tomb...
. In some examples a sill
Sill plate
A sill plate or sole plate in construction and architecture is the bottom horizontal member of a wall or building to which vertical members are attached. Sill plates are usually composed of lumber. It usually comes in sizes of 2×4, 2×6, 2×8, and 2×10. In the platform framing method the sill plate...
stone blocks the entrance. The walls of the chamber themselves are of either orthostat slabs or stone courses, covered with several large capstones. Both the cairn and the chamber often exploit natural stone outcrops or boulders in their construction.
Entrance orientations in Scillonian graves follow no discernible pattern and they appear to have been used for deposition of multiple cremation
Cremation
Cremation is the process of reducing bodies to basic chemical compounds such as gasses and bone fragments. This is accomplished through high-temperature burning, vaporization and oxidation....
and inhumation burials with up to 60 individuals found at Knackyboy Cairn on the island of St Martin's
St Martin's, Isles of Scilly
St Martin's is the northernmost populated island of the Isles of Scilly, United Kingdom. It has an area of .-Description:There are three main settlements on the island - Higher Town, Middle Town and Lower Town - in addition to a number of scattered farms and cottages, with a total population of...
. Occupation debris has also been found in the graves which implies that they were actively used sites possibly for wider ritual purposes and/or as territorial markers.
The small size and simplicity of these monuments compared with the more complex tombs being built elsewhere in Britain imply that the areas where they are found preserved older methods of burial. The earliest known finds from Scillonian entrance graves include fragments of middle Neolithic Carn Brea
Carn Brea
Carn Brea is a civil parish and hilltop site in Cornwall, United Kingdom. The hilltop site is situated approximately one mile southwest of Redruth.-Neolithic settlement:...
type ware and have led some archaeologists such as Paul Ashbee
Paul Ashbee
Paul Ashbee, was a leading British archaeologist, celebrated for his many excavations of barrows, or burial mounds, and for co-directing the Sutton Hoo digs from 1964 to 1972; he was perhaps less well known as president of the Just William Society, established in 1995 to celebrate the literary...
to argue that they are in fact of early Neolithic or even Mesolithic
Mesolithic
The Mesolithic is an archaeological concept used to refer to certain groups of archaeological cultures defined as falling between the Paleolithic and the Neolithic....
date. Much of the Bronze Age material excavated from entrance graves is considered to be related to later re-use.