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. 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 reduction in the height of the rampart through cultivation, the round 220m south east of The Level House survives comparatively well and will contain archaeological and environmental evidence relating to its construction, longevity, trade, agricultural practices, social organisation, territorial significance, domestic arrangements and overall landscape context.
Details
The monument includes a round, situated near to the summit of a north west-facing slope, overlooking the valley of a major tributary to the Helford River. The round survives as an oval enclosure measuring approximately 50m by 44m internally. It is defined by a low rampart bank which is best preserved to the west where it is incorporated into a field boundary. Here it measures up to 3m wide and 1.5m high; elsewhere it stands up to 0.8m high. The whole is surrounded by a largely-buried outer ditch.
The round was first recorded by R Thomas in 1842 and was further described by Henderson in 1937.
Sources: HER:-
PastScape Monument No:-427094
