Fogou from Boden Vean

The Fogou of Boden Vean (also called Boden) is a basement (locally called Fogou or Earth House). It is located in the hamlet of St Anthony near Manaccan or Helston on The Lizard peninsula in the south of Cornwall in England .

From 1991 onwards, drainage work led to the discovery of a well with Roman-British pottery and hand turning mills and to the rediscovery of the Fogou, which had been documented in the area since the early 19th century. The geophysical survey of 1992 and 1993 initially identified a rectangular enclosure and a field system. In 1996, during the agricultural work, the underground cavity was discovered. The 2003 excavations were carried out to understand the Fogou and its context.

In addition to the partial excavation of the Fogou, further geophysical anomalies were investigated, which showed a Bronze Age structure with fragments of a huge vessel of the Treviker Ware, which dates from 1390–870 BC. And raises questions about its function. The Fogou and the surrounding linear enclosure, which according to the radiocarbon data existed at the same time, point to a construction in the Iron Age , around 400 BC. The Fogou and the enclosure produced an unusually large amount of pottery from this period for Cornwall. Roman-British pottery suggests that the site was used in the early centuries AD. A collection of post-Roman Gwithian ware - plates, bowls and glasses - showed that the Fogou was still in use in the 6th century AD. For the first time, a radiocarbon date has been secured for Gwithian pottery (590–670 AD). An important element of the project was the dating program with dates for the Fogou, the enclosure, and the Gwithian-style pottery. Archaeological fieldwork provided the rare opportunity to examine in situ sites spared by antiquarian explorers and assess their contemporary context.

Nearby is the Halligye Fogou .

See also

• Basement in Cornwall

Web links

• Description Engl. and pictures
• Trevisker Ware Description Engl. and pictures
• Description Engl. and location

Coordinates: 50 ° 4 ′ 34.1 ″  N , 5 ° 7 ′ 23.2 ″  W.