New radiocarbon evidence redates Cornwall’s Neolithic
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- READING TIME: 3 minutes
- AUTHORS: Caz Adams and Indie Jago-Werling (Community Engagement Officers)
Radiocarbon dating of hazelnut shells from our excavations at Tregunnel Hill, Newquay, has revealed some of the earliest Neolithic remains ever identified in Cornwall and the wider South West—pushing the start of the Neolithic in this part of Britain back by at least a century. This remarkable redating reshapes our understanding of when farming, pottery, and more settled ways of life first arrived from mainland Europe nearly 6000 years ago.
Excavations across the site uncovered an extraordinarily rich and densely occupied archaeological landscape, with evidence spanning more than 10,000 years—from the Mesolithic and Early Neolithic periods through to the post‑medieval era.
What is the Neolithic period?
The Neolithic marks one of the most significant turning points in human history. It is characterised by the shift from mobile hunter‑gatherer groups to more settled farming communities. This shift brought with it domesticated plants and animals such as barley, wheat, pigs, goats, sheep, and cattle.
With crops to tend and animals to manage, communities no longer needed to move continuously across the landscape and new technologies began to appear, including creating pottery.
Our discoveries at Tregunnel Hill offer new insights into how and when these Neolithic practices reached Cornwall.
How does radiocarbon dating work?
Radiocarbon dating is one of the most important tools archaeologists use to establish absolute dates for archaeological materials. It works by measuring the remaining amount of carbon‑14, a radioactive isotope absorbed by all living organisms including animals and plants. The organic remains of which can be found in the archaeological record as charred seeds and wood, or calcined or unburnt bone.
After death, the carbon‑14 that was absorbed by the organism begins to decay at a predictable rate. By measuring how much remains, specialists can calculate how long it has been since that organism died.
Without scientific dating techniques like radiocarbon dating, archaeologists must rely only on relative dating. This means placing things in order by examining which features cut or overlap others, or by comparing pottery and artefact styles known to have been produced in certain eras.
While helpful, relative dating can only show whether something is earlier or later: not exactly when it happened.
This is why radiocarbon dates from Tregunnel Hill are so valuable: even when pottery types are well understood, the radiocarbon dates allow our team to refine the broader timelines of British prehistory.
What was found at Tregunnel Hill?
At first glance, the excavations at Tregunnel Hill looked much like many other sites in Cornwall: a landscape dominated by pits, features commonly found across the region and beyond. But one pit in particular, the largest uncovered during the project, quickly stood out. Its fills appeared to have been deliberately deposited, layer by layer, creating an unusually rich and structured sequence of material.
These layers consisted of charcoal‑rich ash, broken pottery vessels (including a Carinated Bowl), flint tools and flakes, animal bone, and several beach cobbles. This entire sequence was eventually capped with what seems to have been a deliberate sealing layer of soil.
Radiocarbon dating of charred hazelnut shells from this pit produced an extraordinary result: they dated to 3,985 BC to 3,793 BC. These dates are among the earliest confirmed Neolithic activity in Cornwall and push the beginning of the Neolithic in the region back to before 3800 BC.
This was not the only pit to contain such evidence. A smaller pit nearby also held charcoal‑rich deposits and charred plant remains, including hazelnut shell, alder, hawthorn, crab apple, and cherry. Radiocarbon dating of charred hazelnut shells from this pit produced a very similar range: 3,950 BC to 3,760 BC. Interestingly, scorching on the interior of this pit suggests it may have functioned as a fire pit.
While there is little structural evidence at Tregunnel Hill for the presence of a permanent settlement during the Early Neolithic period, with buildings of this date being rare and leaving little archaeological trace. Placed deposits in the pits may indicate strong evidence for ritual activity, possibly using selected material when domestic sites may have been abandoned. Food and cereal remains suggest food waste was placed in the pits, with domestic activity also suggested by the pottery found. This redating is reshaping our understanding of when farming, pottery, and more settled ways of life first arrived in South West Britain.
