Was Iron or Defence the most important factor for making the Celts settle on Trevelgue Head? - page 2
Keywords: History Celts Iron Age Settlements Defence
By Jenny on 02/07/2009
Level: GCSE Key Stage 4 (Years 10-11)
Page Number: 2 of 4 pages: 1 2 3 4village. Some of the attackers would have been impaled on the wooden spikes placed in the ditches and the inhabitants would have been waiting at the top of the ramparts to throw spears and rocks while the enemy was trapped in the ditch.
Usually ramparts were built by constructing wooden boxes and filling them with earth then placing them in a line and piling up earth and rubbish on the top and at the sides. Ditches were dug on the outer side and wooden palisades built on top. Often several lines of ditches and ramparts were built and wooden spikes placed in the ditches.
The only real difference to the ramparts at Trevelgue Head is that instead of wooden boxes they were built of big stone slabs.
The Celts used weapons made of iron, so the presence of iron on Trevelgue Head would have been a significant factor in their decision to live there. The iron seam is located near the gap in the headland inside the outermost rampart, which was built at a slightly peculiar angle probably to bring the whole of the seam under their direct control.
In fact the Celts mining of the seam could have been part of the cause of the gap in the middle of Trevelgue Head which was probably not there in their time as Trevelgue Head has been eroded a lot since then. The Celts mined the iron by lighting huge fires beside it for days then pouring cold water over the heated rock so that it cracked and fell off.
There is plenty of evidence that the iron was there. ‘The whole island is strewn with waste metal, slag and ores. Source Croft Andrews’ report.
Also, we have a lump of iron slag from rampart 6 and the seams can still be clearly seen today.
They used the iron to make weapons and other things but they also traded it. A Roman trade route passed close by Trevelgue Head, and they would have traded with them as Roman coins were found on the island. They probably also traded with the Phoenicians and other Semitic visitors and with other Celts e.g. those in Gaul (France). This was probably helped by the fact that there is a natural harbour at Trevelgue Head. Also we know they travelled by cart/chariot as a lynch pin of Yorkshire type was found there, which we have seen in Truro museum.
There was also tin
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