Surveying Sennen

This article is from Current Archaeology issue 431

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Last September brought about a wonderful opportunity for community collaboration, in the form of a joint field-walking and metal-detecting event near Sennen in Cornwall, which produced over 800 finds over the course of three days. This investigation was born out of discussions between me and Dan Pyne, the President of Hayle Metal Detecting Club, an organised and registered club whose members care deeply about historical finds – and, crucially, getting them recorded. I am currently Archaeology Officer for the Federation of Old Cornwall Societies, a charity that supports a network of local groups seeking to champion, care for, and converse about their local heritage (both tangible and intangible). While the Federation acted as the official host for the event, invitations were extended to members of the Cornish Ancient Sites Protection Network, Cornwall Archaeological Society, and Meneage Archaeology Group. By working with other heritage groups and charities, we were able to ensure that everyone involved had some knowledge of the historic environment; we could offer a community event where everyone’s contribution was valued; and, perhaps most importantly, it gave attendees the chance to meet like-minded people who care about local heritage as much as they do. Perhaps unsurprisingly, then, the response to these invitations was overwhelming, with registration places filling rapidly and interest in joining the finds-processing team far exceeding expectations. Dan organised the metal-detectorists, I liaised with the field-walkers, and we were ready to go. As for where we were searching, an inquisitive landowner with an interest in learning more about the local area kindly provided us with a number of fields to explore. In recent decades, they had been used as grazing for a now-closed riding school, but lately had been dedicated to growing maize.

As a former Finds Liaison Officer, I managed the Finds Tent, and every team member received informal training in best practice for field-walking, identifying common finds, recording and photographing objects, and the initial work of processing these discoveries. Each finder was assigned their own spit to work along, while a precise ‘what3words’ location was used to log the position of every discovery. So, what did we find?

Finds overview

The majority (roughly 60%) of our recorded finds were pottery, including some lovely North Devon gravel-tempered jug sherds. Ceramic finds spanned the latter part of the early medieval period to the present day, but we were also pleased to uncover evidence of much earlier activity. Land’s End peninsula is known for producing prehistoric tools made of flint and greenstone, as well as waste from their production, and within our survey area there appeared to be two areas with particular concentrations of worked flint (including some nice thumbnail and side scrapers). There was some liminal evidence of Bronze Age smelting waste, too, which might hint at metal-working activity in the vicinity.

We know from historical documents that there was a small settlement nearby at the time of the Norman invasion, and medieval highlights among our finds included belt buckles, strap fittings, and hammered coins. We also found stray items of jewellery of diverse dates, including a Roman brooch and a gilt finger-ring decorated with a Tudor rose. Unsurprisingly, though, most of our finds were more recent in date, reflecting the rapid post-medieval expansion of occupation in the surrounding area. In particular, numerous Victorian pottery sherds emerged from Field 1, hinting at a ‘dump site’ of this period, or perhaps an episode of ‘manuring’, a process where household waste was regularly spread across fields to enrich the soil. Most farms in Cornwall find their origins in the medieval period, and it is likely that some of these were built on even earlier farmsteads.

It was, in all, a rewarding experience for all who took part, and showcased what can be achieved through community, collaboration, careful recording of finds, and commitment to the historic environment.

Images: Laura Miucci