Pendeen Vau

The Fogou of Pendeen (also called Pendeen Vau ) is an archaeological site 5 km north of St Just in Penwith on a farm near the Leuchttfeuers Pendeen in Cornwall. In the eponymous village William Borlase was born jun., One of the first scholars who dealt with Cornish history, in 1695.

Fogou means " cave " and is the Cornish name for underground passages and chambers of the Iron Age. In Scotland, similar structures " Earth House " or " Weem " called. The generic term for these structures is the basement. The original purpose of Fogous is unknown.

The original entrance of the Fogou of Pendeen is unknown. The current access is located in a wall. Behind the portal of the passage runs about seven meters to the north and down. The ceiling tiles are abgetreppt here about the respective headroom. At the bottom of the course, which is about 45 degrees to the left and then runs for about 10 m straight. At the end of this section there is a small opening. This passage shows the typical design of a structurally Fogou. The wall tends slightly towards the ceiling inside and forms a trapezoidal cross-section. The floor in the hallway is covered with large plates.

The kink is located near the bottom of a 50 cm high opening. It leads to a 7.5 m long and 1.75 m wide chamber. It is about 1.25 meters high in the middle and has a semicircular cross section. This chamber is atypical for a Fogou as there is a wall -less erosion in Rab. " Rab " is called a typical Cornwall conglomerate of granite particles which are bound in clay. The chamber floor is covered ankle deep with mud. In the corner of the chamber and at some points in a passage of water puddles. A high water mark, 50 cm above the chamber floor indicates how high can increase the water.