Bronze Age stone hut circle Fernworthy Reservoir
Introduction
The photograph on this page of Bronze Age stone hut circle Fernworthy Reservoir by Kate Jewell as part of the Geograph project.
The Geograph project started in 2005 with the aim of publishing, organising and preserving representative images for every square kilometre of Great Britain, Ireland and the Isle of Man.
There are currently over 7.5m images from over 14,400 individuals and you can help contribute to the project by visiting https://www.geograph.org.uk
Bronze Age stone hut circle Fernworthy Reservoir
Image: © Kate Jewell Taken: 24 Apr 2014
This ring of stones formed the base of a Bronze Age dwelling with a central pole forming the main support for a heather and thatch roof. The many stone hut circles at Fernworthy have been dated to the Beaker Folk who settled in this area around 2000BC. They are named after their characteristic pottery beakers, a waisted and decorated drinking vessel found across Western Europe during this period. The pots were also used for smelting, storing and preparing foodstuffs and as funerary urns. Apart from being early farmers and skilled archers, the Beaker Folk traded tin in the form of cassiterite pebbles found in streams throughout what is now Devon and Cornwall. Tin was used to turn copper into bronze from around 2200 BC and was widely traded throughout Britain and into Ireland, hence this period being called the Bronze Age.
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Image Location
Latitude
50.641653
Longitude
-3.88148