Zennor Quoit

The Zennor Quoit is about 5500 year old grave site from the Neolithic period and is located near the village of Zennor in the former Penwith District of Cornwall in England.

Location

The Quoit is located 1.5 km east of Zennor. You can reach him on a path in front of the village of Zennor branches coming on the road from St Ives about 1 km turn left. On the Penwith peninsula are still other megalithic sites:

• Boskednan
• Boscawen -Un
• Chun Quoit
• Lanyon Quoit
• Mên-an -Tol
• Merry Maidens
• Mulfra Quoit
• Tregeseal
• Tregiffian

Construction

Two large portal plates on the front page of the oriented eastward grave chamber at the same time form an input and an anteroom. Behind it is one of four stones, enclosed chamber. The large capstone of the grave chamber weighs about 10 tons and has slipped to the back of the chamber. Before the tomb five standing stones form a rectangular structure with 3.5 m and 1.5 m long sides. Modern research is currently established that the structure as well as other quoits was not completely covered by a bank of earth, but lay open to an entrance hall.

History

The megalithic site was first mentioned in 1769 by William Borlase as Senar Quoit. He wrote also the two adjacent etchings. But there are two major differences between the pictorial representation and today encountered events. The Steinanböschung shown to the tomb, stating 13 m for the diameter Borlase is no longer available. The cover plate is still in the drawing on the chamber, the ceiling height in the chamber, according to Borlase was amazing 2.4m. On September 4, 1861 reported the Cornish Telegraph that a farmer removed one of the cornerstones of the environment to use the chamber as a cattle barn can. This prevailing opinion slipped the cover plate and ran into its present position. Contradicted by the fact that 1849 W. Willis anfertigte an etching that already was no longer the top plate in its original position. Therefore, the collapse must have occurred before 1849 and was caused by a breakaway from the rear western buttress, which is still on the drawing by Borlase. The village priest in any case prevented further demolition work by financially so supplied the farmer that this did not have to use the stones. A comprehensive description of Zennor Quoit delivered in 1872 William Copeland Borlase, a great-grandson of William Borlase, who called the Megalithic the " most interesting and most perfect specimen of a prehistoric tomb in West Cornwall ". He reproduced the etchings shown here and found them particularly valuable because the monument has since been subject to considerable changes. Borlase was in fact hit by the drawings of his grandfather on the destruction. He also provided the above description of the circumstances surrounding. The recent accounts of the investment of Hencken and Glyn Daniel are short, but Daniel called after all details of excavation finds on site. Accordingly, located in the Museum of Penzance found here prehistoric grinding stone. Furthermore allegedly urns and ceramics were recovered.