Reasons for Designation
Rounds are small embanked enclosures, one of a range of settlement types dating to between the later Iron Age and the early post-Roman period. Usually circular or oval, they have a single earth and rubble bank and an outer ditch, with one entrance breaking the circuit. Excavations have produced drystone supporting walls within the bank, paved or cobbled entrance ways, post built gate structures, and remains of timber, turf or stone built houses of oval or rectangular plan, often set around the inner edge of the enclosing bank. Other evidence includes hearths, drains, gullies, pits and rubbish middens. Evidence for industrial activities has been recovered from some sites, including small scale metal working and, among the domestic debris, items traded from distant sources. Some rounds are associated with secondary enclosures, either abutting the round as an annexe or forming an additional enclosure. Rounds are viewed primarily as agricultural settlements, the equivalents of farming hamlets. They were replaced by unenclosed settlement types by the 7th century AD. Over 750 rounds are recorded in the British Isles, occurring in areas bordering the Irish Seas, but confined in England to south west Devon and especially Cornwall, where many more examples may await discovery. Most recorded examples are sited on hillslopes and spurs. Rounds are important as one of the major sources of information on settlement and social organisation of the Iron Age and Roman periods in south west England. Despite significant tree cover, the round called Lesingey Round survives well and will contain archaeological and environmental evidence relating to its construction, date, function, social organisation, trade, agricultural practices, re-use, domestic arrangements, strategic importance and overall landscape context.
Details
The monument includes a round, situated at the summit of a prominent hill, overlooking Newlyn and Mounts Bay. The round survives as a circular enclosed area defined by a rampart bank standing up to 4.5m high with a largely buried outer ditch. The periphery of the ditch is enclosed within a surrounding field boundary. The earliest records provide indirect references to the round. 'Castle Horneck' is first recorded in 1335 and was the name given to the round by Norden in 1584. It was also mentioned by antiquarians such as Lake in the 19th century. Place name evidence might suggest a court on the site of an earlier fortification, suggesting Tresingey Round may have been re-used in the medieval period, hence the Castle Horneck alternative name.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
CO 536
Legacy System:
RSM - OCN
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