Details

The monument, which falls into two areas, includes Carvossa, a prehistoric
defended enclosure later occupied in the Romano-British period, with an
associated extramural settlement also considered to be Romano-British. It is
situated near the crest of a spur, on a slight south facing slope, about 2.5km
west of the River Fal, which is considered to have been navigable as far
upstream as Grampound in the Roman period.
The monument is known, from a combination of extant remains, excavation, and
geophysical survey, to comprise a roughly square defended enclosure of about
2ha with extramural occupation extending from its eastern side for a distance
of at least 140m. Excavations conducted in the late 1960s have demonstrated
that the majority of finds at the site belong to the first two centuries AD
during the Romano-British period, but the defences of the enclosure itself are
considered to date from the pre-Roman Iron Age.
The enclosure is formed of a bank and external ditch. The bank survives on the
northern part of the defensive circuit with maximum dimensions of 1.8m in
height and 10m in width. Elsewhere it is preserved, although diminished, in
field walls and hedgerows on the western and southern sides and by a scarp on
the eastern side where it has been reduced by cultivation. The enclosure has
rounded corners, the best preserved of which is on the north west, whilst the
south eastern corner has been levelled at some stage in the past for the
construction of agricultural buildings. The bank is fronted by a ditch which
is again most visible on the northern side where it has a maximum width of 8m
and, although infilled, it retains a depth of about 0.4m and is known from
excavation to be 4.5m deep; the ditch is visible as a slight depression around
most of the remainder of the circuit. The ditch was shown to have been at
least partially infilled, by a depth of about 1.5m of silted deposit, before
the first appearance of Roman pottery. A single entrance is known from
excavation on the eastern side of the defences where the bank terminals were
curved and revetted in stone to respect a massive timber gate structure and a
causeway.
Excavations and geophysical survey within the defences revealed a circular
building, which might have pre-Roman origins, and a pattern of sub-rectangular
enclosures. Precise separation of pre-Roman from Roman structures was not
possible without further detailed archaeological evidence as native building
traditions are considered to have continued throughout the South West in the
Roman period. The coins, brooches, glass and pottery (other than a few Iron
Age sherds) recovered from excavation trenches just inside the eastern
defences, were however firmly attributable to the Roman period and had a date
span of the mid-first century AD to the second half of the third century AD,
with most of the finds dateable to 60-130. The opening date of this range has
prompted the suggestion that the pre-existing enclosure may have been
utilised by the Roman army as a fort. Later in the Romano-British period the
causeway through the eastern defences was overlain by a well made road which
has been traced running south east on a line leading to the River Fal.
Occupation beyond the area of the main enclosure is demonstrated by
geophysical survey which reveals a number of small enclosures and pits in the
field (OS 0021) opposite the east gate of the main enclosure; the full extent
of this extramural settlement has not been tested but it is recorded in this
field over an area of about 150m north-south by 60m east-west. Beyond this to
the north, south and east sides a further 10m margin is included in the
scheduling as it is believed that the remains also survive in this area. It
may represent part of an external vicus (area of civilian settlement outside a
Roman fort), a native trading settlement set up under Roman auspices or a
Romano-British village.
Whether or not there was a military origin for the Roman period occupation at
Carvossa, it remained in use during the second century (with some iron working
within the enclosure and across the area of the redundant ditch at least on
its eastern side), and evidence of occupation into the third century suggests
that Carvossa was a successful Romano-British site over an extended period,
perhaps taking advantage of its position to trade on the River Fal.

All fencing and fence posts, gates and gate posts, telegraph poles, and the
agricultural buildings and pond in the south east corner of field OS 8926, are
excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath these features is
included.

MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.

Source: Historic England

Reasons for Scheduling

Pre-Roman defended enclosures or hillforts intensively occupied in the Roman
period are extremely rare nationally as are sites of this type which also have
an association with extra mural settlement.
In the tribal area of the Dumnonii, and in Cornwall in particular, the most
commonly recognised form of defended enclosure of the pre-Roman Iron Age and
Romano-British period is the `round'. Rounds are small embanked enclosures,
usually circular or oval, with a single earth and rubble bank and outer ditch,
and with one entrance breaking the circuit. Although Carvossa bears
superficial similarities to a round its defences are much more substantial and
its earthworks more closely resemble those of a large univallate hillfort of
Iron Age date. Excavation shows that, even if the defences were constructed in
the Iron Age, the major period of occupation at Carvossa was in the Roman
period and that the provision of a metalled road to the site occurred whilst
the site was under Roman control. The Roman finds, which include quantities of
Samian ware (a fine table ware) suggest an unusual status for Carvossa and a
possible military origin for its Roman use is suggested by the mid-1st century
AD date for some of the pottery. In this respect the monument might be
compared to the Iron Age site of Hembury in East Devon where part of the
interior of the hillfort was enclosed by the Roman army probably for a base
connected with the overseeing of the extraction of iron from nearby
ore deposits. At Carvossa the continuity of the occupation beyond AD75 when
the Roman military presence might have ceased, suggests that Carvossa
became a successful Romano-British settlement perhaps trading by way of the
River Fal.
Despite some disturbance to its defensive circuit, the monument at Carvossa is
known from excavation and geophysical survey to contain extensive
archaeological material both within its enclosure and to the east of its
defences, including some in a well preserved and waterlogged condition. It
will provide information on the relationship between Roman and native Iron Age
populations in the South West at a crucial time in their development and its
extramural settlement has the potential to contribute further to these
studies.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Bartlett, A, David, A, Geophysical Survey at Carvossa, Probus, Cornwall, (1980)
Carlyon, P M, 'Cornish Archaeology' in Finds from the Earthwork at Carvossa, , Vol. 26, (1987), 103-141
Douch, H L, Beard, S W, 'Cornish Archaeology' in Excavations at Carvossa, Probus 1968-1970, , Vol. 9, (1970), 93-97
Fox, A, Ravenhill, W L D, 'Britannia' in The Roman Fort at Nanstallon, Cornwall, , Vol. 3, (1972), 56-111
Quinnell, H, 'Cornish Archaeology' in Cornwall During The Iron Age And The Roman Period, , Vol. 25, (1986), 111-134

Source: Historic England