Standing on a ridge, this quoit
surveys heather moorland and the Atlantic Ocean
(59Kb)
The south-westerly tip of Britain, known as West Penwith, houses several quoits (also called dolmens
or cromlechs). The best preserved of all is Chûn Quoit, up on the open moorland. The
uphill walk is well worth while because this is perhaps the most visually satisfying of all the quoits.
Standing on a windy ridge, above the much later constructed
Chûn Castle hillfort, it surveys heather moorland and the open sea.
As with the other quoits, the Chûn was probably covered by an earth mound, of which much evidence
abounds. It was a closed chamber and its mushroom-domed capstone measures 3.3m (11ft) by 3m (10ft), with
a maximum thickness of 0.8m (2ft 7in). It is supported about 2m (7ft) from the ground by four substantial
slabs. There is evidence of an entrance passage to the south-east within the mound area.
The site was
examined in 1871 but no significant finds were made. In the same vicinity of Chûn Quoit there are many other megalithic and archaeological sites as
Lanyon Quoit, Mên-an-Tol and
Mên Scryfa. The weird rocky outline of
Carn Kenidjack marks the position of midwinter sunset away to the south-west.
Standing on a ridge, this quoit
surveys heather moorland and the Atlantic Ocean
(59Kb) 
