Bosporthennis facts for kids

Bosporthennis is a small village, also known as a hamlet. It is located in west Cornwall, England, in the United Kingdom. You can find it south of Treen, within the civil parish of Zennor. The people living in Bosporthennis were counted as part of Zennor in the 2011 census.

Ancient Discoveries

Bosporthennis is a special place because of its very old structures. These buildings and monuments tell us about people who lived here long, long ago. They are like clues from the past.

Iron Age Homes

At the base of a hill called Hannibal's Carn, you can find the remains of an ancient village. This village dates back to the Iron Age, a time when people started using iron tools. It had at least three special homes called courtyard houses. These houses were built around a central open space, like a small yard.

The best-preserved house still has walls that are about 1.5 meters (5 feet) high. It also has a small fenced area next to it, perhaps for animals. Another house has a much newer building inside its old walls. This newer building was a cowhouse from the late medieval period.

The Bosporthennis Beehive Hut

Within this ancient settlement, there is a unique structure. It is known as the Bosporthennis Beehive Hut. This hut is made of stones stacked in a special way. The stones gradually lean inward, forming a dome shape, much like a beehive. This building method is called corbelling.

Some people thought this hut might be a fogou. A fogou is an underground passage or chamber. The Bosporthennis hut is similar to a round chamber found at Carn Euny. However, experts are not sure if it is truly a fogou. It does not have all the usual features of these mysterious underground places.

The main chamber of the Beehive Hut is about 4 meters (13 feet) across. It connects to a smaller, oblong room. This smaller room was likely the entrance. Both parts of the hut no longer have their roofs.

Bosporthennis Quoit

Another amazing ancient monument here is the Bosporthennis Quoit. A quoit is a type of portal dolmen. This means it is a very old tomb or monument made of large stones. It has a huge capstone resting on upright stones.

The Bosporthennis Quoit sits within a small mound of earth. This mound is about 6 meters (20 feet) wide. Originally, there were four upright stones supporting the capstone. Today, three of these stones still stand. One of them is about 1.5 meters (5 feet) tall. The chamber inside the quoit is about 1.5 by 1.3 meters (5 by 4 feet).

The large stone on top, the capstone, is about 1.6 meters (5 feet) across. It is very round because it was once shaped to be a millstone. A millstone is used to grind grain. When archaeologists dug here in 1872, they found pieces of pottery. They also found tiny pieces of calcined bones. Calcined bones are bones that have been burned at a very high temperature.