Finds from the site of an ancient dwelling discovered in Newquay are hoped to find a home in a local museum, Cornwall Council has said.
Archaeologists from the Cornwall Archaeological Unit have uncovered three Bronze Age roundhouses, a Roman-period settlement consisting of an oval house, a large processing area thought to be used for cereals and two rectangular buildings, which were likely former barns.
The discovered dwellings, on the site of a new housing development in Newquay, include large quantities of Bronze Age Trevisker ware pottery, Roman-period imported pottery, and worked stone tools from both periods.
The Cornwall Archaeological Unit completed their work at the end of March. The site will now be handed over to the developer, Treveth.
Councillor Martyn Alvey, portfolio holder for Environment and Climate Change at Cornwall Council, said: “These structures are really significant for Cornwall and it is fantastic to get a glimpse of what life was like in Newquay all those years ago.
“I hope that we are able to house many of the finds locally and look forward to hearing more about them.”
Sean Taylor, Senior Archaeologist at the Cornwall Archaeological Unit, explained of the finds: “The Roman house is similar to buildings found at Trethurgy Round near St Austell in the 1970s and are of a type unique to Cornwall.
“It’s starting to look like this part of Newquay, alongside the River Gannel, was a very important and densely populated area from the Neolithic (c 4000BC) onwards. The estuary undoubtedly formed an important link with the outside world throughout prehistory.”
