I wrote a whole blogpost about Cornish quoits vback in 2022 (see here). Also known as dolmens or table stones or cromlechs or portal stones, these are structures that feature a 'capstone' sitting flat on top of several upright stones.
No one is completely sure when, why and by whom the earliest dolmens were made. They are generally all regarded as tombs or burial chambers, despite the absence of clear evidence for this. Human remains, sometimes accompanied by artefacts, have been found in or close to the dolmens which could be scientifically dated using radiocarbon dating. However, it has been impossible to prove that these remains date from the time when the stones were originally set in place and some may have been erected as much as 7000 years ago.
However, we know precisely when Carwynnen Quoit (AKA the Giant's Quoit), near Camborne, was erected. It was 2014.
To be fair, it was there for a long time before that but it was knocked over by a tractor back in the late 1966. It then remained as nothing but a pile of stones for a long time. However, a campaign led by archaeologist Pip Richards got the quoit re-erected a decade ago. And, thankfully, there were old photographs to help make sure it was done correctly.
Pip got to see the final rebuild but, sadly, died a a couple of years later. She's actually buried in a corner of the field - now called 'Pip's Field' and an old schoolfriend of mine called Kevin Maegor was a pall bearer. 'She had a pagan funeral,' he told me. 'Her coffin was placed under the quoit and the assembled crowd sang folk songs accompanied by a fiddle band. A very moving yet different experience.'
The world needs more Pips.
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