CAU - Cornwall Archaeological Unit

18/10/2026

That's a wrap!

What a fantastic day hearing from a wide range of speakers celebrating 50 years of CAU - Cornwall Archaeological Unit !

From flints to landscape character, hedges to holy wells, volunteers to land drains, it really was great to hear about the successes of the Unit, and also their pioneering ways.

We'll post more about the specific topics next week, and the papers will be published in Cornish Archaeology in 2028.

Meur ras to all attended, whether in person or online, and to all involve in organising the day! 👏🏻

📷 The speakers (and Ben Sumpter who managed the Zoom)

16/10/2026

If you haven't signed up already, don't miss the CAS conference tomorrow, a once in a lifetime opportunity to hear all about the origins, successes and ground breaking discoveries over 50 years of CAU :)

30/09/2026

CAU gathered at the Ale House last night to say a fond farewell (or au revoir) to one of our longest serving archaeologists, Carl Thorpe. Carl first joined the unit in 1986 and made a name for himself with his excavations and finds work at Tintagel amongst other sites. We thank him for his invaluable contributions to Cornish Archaeology over the last 40 years and wish him the very best for a long and healthy retirement.

04/06/2026

Pop along to meet our lovely colleagues at Penmount Crematorium at their Open Day and Service of Remembrance event on Sunday 28th June.

Please join us for our 70th Anniversary event on Sunday 28th June from 11am to celebrate Penmount Crematorium providing the people of Cornwall with a wonderful facility.
We have this year achieved a Gold standard rating from the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management for the service provided by Penmount.

Camborne Community Brass Band will be playing from 11am then we are pleased to welcome Will Keating to headline the event on the front lawn during the afternoon. Why not have a look behind the scenes, take a look at the Natural burial site or have a walk around the beautiful gardens. There will be lots more to do and see during the afternoon with a focus on the history of the Penmount site and our aims for increasing the biodiversity of the gardens. The event will conclude with a Service of Remembrance at 2.30pm for those who wish to attend.

We hope to see you on the day.

22/05/2026

Check out the Earth and Air Festival, Tregona Chapel, St Eval

21/01/2026

An initial report on CAU's recent collaboration with the University of Durham is out.

https://www.cambridge.org/core/blog/2026/01/19/excavating-the-british-tin-trade-that-shaped-the-bronze-age/?fbclid=IwY2xjawPdqslleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETBSaGZnUThjRDJTYWRNblhac3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHhBtHqg9g_x7lvpVAQzPTPHtHF1GWpY7BgzXSEEyk_kiopM7BEeCDIiR_tpZ_aem_BSJMItEAY46gf6scRXrgzQ

In 2025, we published an article in Antiquity, demonstrating through chemical and isotopic analyses that, c. 1300 BC, tin ingots made from tin ores in southwest Britain are found on shipwrecks off the coast of Israel, around 4000 km away. We also showed that the tin from the Rochelongue shipwreck, f...

23/12/2025

A new publication featuring the work of CAU!

An Investigation of Three Megalithic Quoits in Cornwall - BAR Publishing

This monograph reports upon the recent excavations of three Cornish megalithic monuments, known locally by the suffix as quoits, which were undertaken by Cornwall Archaeological Unit, with support from the Cornwall Archaeological Society, The Cornwall Heritage Trust and The Sustainable Trust. Two of...

11/12/2025

The historic Bude Storm Tower was under serious threat from coastal erosion, but meticulous historic building recording by an expert team from CAU has helped make it possible to rebuild the tower at a safer site inland.
The building is one of many celebrated by Historic England and recognised on the 2025 National Heritage List for England.
The Storm Tower was designed by George Wightwick in 1835 as a coastguard watchtower, refuge and signalling point and has been reconstructed using as much of the 19th century fabric as possible.

BBC News - 'Remarkable diversity' of heritage sites celebrated
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c87l412v0pqo

19/11/2025

CAU have been proud to work alongside Historic England, the Cornwall Archaeological Society, and Cornwall Heritage Trust over the last few weeks at Castilly Henge near Bodmin. There’s been a lot of hard work, a lot of stratigraphy, a lot of fun, and even a few tears, and I think we’re all glad it’s over as winter sets in, but it’s certainly been an experience and we can’t wait for the results to come out next year.

13/10/2025

CAU are proud to have been involved with this project at Castilly Henge, near Bodmin. An open day on Saturday saw a remarkable 711 people visit the site. The excavations finish this week.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/oct/12/it-would-be-wonderful-the-team-hoping-to-unearth-cornwalls-stonehenge?utm_term=Autofeed&CMP=bsky_gu&utm_medium&utm_source=Bluesky&fbclid=IwY2xjawNZtaJleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHkA80E0mV9A7XFrIoJO8wqZ31ne6JwlyahMqwzH-_u4evS_MkKnqjIQgRM9c_aem_PVUI9OsKiZD7ZrmFQe8v0w =1760272206

Experts and volunteers working at Castilly Henge have been trying determine if it is the county’s lost great stone circle