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BC
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400,000 - 200,000 BC
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PALAEOLITHIC (EARLY STONE AGE)
From 400,000 BC to 200,000 BC, the archaeological record (ie.
flint axes and blades) shows us that people, that were probably
settled in Devon, were beginning to make periodic visits into
Cornwall. By 40,000 BC (The Upper Palaeolithic) these modern humans
(Homo Sapiens Sapiens) have spread throughout the South West, but
there is still no evidence of settlements in Cornwall at this time
(as yet).
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10,000
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MESOLITHIC (MIDDLE STONE AGE)
This period begins at the end of the last glacial period, when
water levels began to rise, and hunter-gatherer bands begin to
settle around the coastlines of Cornwall, around the Lizard, for
example, and have working sites on upland areas, such as Bodmin
Moor.
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4,000 - 2,400
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NEOLITHIC (NEW STONE AGE)
The Neolithic period is a time of great social and agricultural
development. This can be seen through the adoption of farming and
increased monument construction, brought about largely by an
increasing population. Settlements begin to be fortified such as
the one on top of Carn Brea.
The
first Cornish hedges enclosed land for cereal crops
during the Neolothic Age.
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2,400 - 1,500
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EARLY BRONZE AGE
This period is defined by the introduction of metalworking,
especially in bronze, which uses Cornwall's natural resources of
tin and copper.
These sources are found by tin-streaming and open-cast mining for
copper.
The period is also characterised by its ceremonial and burial
monuments: the stone circles, rows and standing stones or menhirs,
and the barrows with their kist graves.
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1,500 - 600 BC
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LATE BRONZE AGE
The climate begins to get wetter during this period which causes
settlement movement to lowland sites such as Trethellan, Newquay,
and a move to more seasonal and less intensive grazing on the
uplands. Population pressure, as a result, creates a more warlike
society which often sacrifices weapons to their gods.
Arrival of the first Celtics in Britan by 600BC. Some
recent scholarship suggests that it was before 1000BC, and possibly
as early as 2000 BC.
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600 BC - AD 43
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IRON AGE
Iron gradually replaces bronze for weapons and farming tools.
People are starting to live in defended settlements called rounds
which are bank-and-ditch enclosures protecting a number of
round-houses within. There are also economic and social centres,
where manufacturing and trading occur, establishing on hill-tops
and headlands, such as Trevelgue Head, near Newquay.
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AD 19
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(June 21st) A total eclipse of the sun is visible in
Cornwall (more Eclipse dates)
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AD 43 - AD 410
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ROMANO-BRITISH PERIOD
(AD 47 for Exeter / AD 55 for Nanstallon)
The late 1st century ostensibly brings Roman military
occupation, but no noteworthy civil presence. The Britain
annexed by Rome is Pided among various tribes. The south west is
occupied by the Dumnonii, Iron Age Celts who had held a large area
for centuries. The rural society of the previous period
continues, largely unchanged by the Roman influence in the rest of
Britain. One fort is established, at Nanstallon on the River Camel,
but it is occupied for 20 years; and one villa, at Magor,
Camborne, which coincides with the increased trade in tin, during
the 3rd and 4th centuries AD, not only for bronze, but also to
alloy with lead for pewter objects.
New trading posts are set up such as the one at Carvossa,
Probus, and a new style of housing is introduced in Penwith, the
courtyard house, at villages like Chysauster.
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238 - 244
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The reign of Gordian III. A milestone inscribed with the Roman's
name is found at Menheer, Gwennap, in 1942. It is the earliest
example in Cornwall.
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410 - 1000
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Later Roman geography indicates that there are territorial
sub-groupings, and what is now Cornwall - distinguished by its Late
British name, Cornouia, the land of the Cornovii - may survive as
one such subPision. Welsh sources point to a succession of
Dumnonian Kings right through to the 9th century, and a 10th
century memorial to King Ricatus stands in the grounds of Penlee
House, Penzance. By this time, Cornouia has become Cornubia
(Latin), Cernyw (Welsh) and Kernow (Cornish). The British
language evolves in Dumnonia into what becomes Cornish.
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c500-600
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English invasion: period of Arthur, Doniert & other Celtic
kings; and 'The age of the Saints'
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577
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Battle of Deorham Down near Bristol results in the separation of
the West Welsh (the Cornish) from the Welsh by the advance of the
Saxons
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c600
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Earliest Christian church opens at St. Piran's Oratory.
By now, the Saxons, have destroyed the remains of Roman
civilisation in eastern England, and in the west it is almost
forgotten. The Saxons are established as the most important
tribe of invaders and they are converting to Roman
Christianity.
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664
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The Synod of Whitby determines that England is again an
ecclesiastical province of Rome, with its formal structure of
dioceses and parishes. The Celtic Church of Dumnonia is not
party to the decision and the Cornish Church remains monastic in
nature.
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c700
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English reach Bristol Channel: Celts of Cornwall cut off from
Celts of Wales
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705
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Saxon westward advance is renewed and by 710 Exeter is
occupied.
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c710-711
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Ina, King of the West Saxons, attempts to destroy the kingdom of
Dumnonia. Until 766 several battles took place, with the
Saxons mainly victorious, except in 722 when Roderic, King of the
Britons in Wales and Cornwall, repels Adelred, King of Wessex.
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787
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Viking Danes visit the coasts of Wessex, and form an alliance
with the Cornish against the Saxons in 807.
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814
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The Saxon Ecgberht of Wessex conquers Cornwall but is
unsuccessful in subjugating the Cornish people despite having "laid
waste the land from east to west'.
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825
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Cornish send army into Wessex (under attack from Mercians) but
to no effect
The Cornish rise against Ecgberht only to be defeated at Gafulford
(Galford on the River Lew, West Devon)
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838
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A Cornish-Danish alliance is initially successful in a number of
skirmishes with Ecgberht, but is eventually defeated in a pitched
battle at Hingston Down, near Callington, the last against
the Saxons.
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878
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Dumgarth, (identified as Doniert in Saxon records), king of the
Cornish, is drowned. Doniert's Stone stands in St. Cleer
parish.
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927
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Athelstan, eldest son of Edward the Elder and grandson of
Alfred, attacks the south western Celts, forcing their withdrawal
from Exeter. There is no record of him taking his campaigns into
Cornwall. It seems probable that Hywel, King of the Cornish, agreed
to pay tribute to Athelstan, as did Alfred the Great, and thus
avoided more attacks and maintained a high degree of autonomy.
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931
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King Athelstan sets up a bishopric at St.
Germans. It lasts until 1042 when the see is
united with Credition and is later removed to Exeter, after
which Cornwall remains an archdeaconry until 1876. The
church of St. Germanus is finally consecrated in 1261 after its
reorganisation by Bishop Bartholomew as an Augustinian priory
(1161-84). Eight centuries on, St. Germans
displays more of Norman planning than any other Cornish church,
although two thirds of them have some Norman
traces.
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936
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Athelstan's settlement fixes the east bank of the Tamar as the
boundary between Anglo-Saxon Wessex and Celtic Cornwall.
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1066
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Norman Conquest. Robert of Mortain becomes Earl of Cornwall and
builds castle at Launceston. Earl Ordulf is in charge of Moresk
Castle, Truro
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