Reasons for Designation
Entrance graves are funerary and ritual monuments dating to the later Neolithic, Early and Middle Bronze Age (c.2500-1000 BC). They were constructed with a roughly circular mound of heaped rubble and earth, up to 25m in diameter, the perimeter of which may be defined by a kerb of edge-set slabs or, occasionally, coursed stone. The mound contains a rectangular chamber built of edge-set slabs or coursed rubble walling, or a combination of both. The chamber was roofed by further slabs, called capstones, spanning the walls. The chamber was accessible via a gap in the mound's kerb or outer edge and often extends back beyond the centre of the mound. Excavations within entrance graves have revealed cremated human bone and funerary urns, usually within the chambers but on occasion within the mound. Unburnt human bone has been recovered but is only rarely preserved. Some chambers have also produced ritual deposits of domestic midden debris, including dark earth typical of the surface soil found in settlements, animal bone and artefact fragments. Entrance graves may occur as single monuments or in small or large groups often associated with other cairn types in cemeteries. Entrance graves are one of several forms of chambered tombs found in western Britain and adjacent areas to the south, including the Channel Islands and Brittany. In England, entrance graves are confined to the extreme south west, with 79 of the 93 recorded surviving examples located on the Isles of Scilly and the remaining 14 located in Penwith peninsula at the western tip of
Cornwall. The entrance grave 245m north west of Pennance is one of a rare group of monuments and is reputedly the best preserved example of the type. It does not appear to have undergone any early partial excavation so will contain archaeological and environmental evidence relating to its construction, longevity, function, funerary and ritual practices, social organisation, cultural significance and overall landscape context.
Details
The monument includes an entrance grave, situated on the upper slopes of the valley of a small river leading to Porthglaze Cove. The entrance grave survives as a roughly-circular stony mound approximately 7.9m in diameter and 1.7m high retained by a kerb of stones up to 1.2m high. It contains a partially blocked rectangular chamber which measures approximately 4m long, 1.4m wide and up to 0.8m high roofed by five capstones. The walls of the chamber appear in part to be of drystone construction. It was first noted by Blight in 1865 and was the first entrance grave discovered in West Penwith. It is known locally as the 'Giant's Craw' from the Cornish 'crow' meaning hut.
Sources: HER:-
PastScape Monument No:-423755
