West Penwith or Belerion
is the 'toe' at the far end of Cornwall.
It is dense with Neolithic and Bronze Age sites.
Penwith's rich prehistory goes back 6,000 years.
This site, Ancient Penwith, is about the geomancy
and earth energies of the prehistoric landscape here
and the achievements of Neolithic and Bronze Age civilisation.
Maps of Ancient West Penwith: Ancient Sites | Alignments
Ancient West Penwith
West Penwith is 16 x 12 km (10 x 8 miles) in size, bounded by sea-cliffs on three sides. It has over 700 ancient sites, big and small.
Carn Galva from Lanyon Quoit
These include:+ tor enclosures, cliff sanctuaries, quoits and carns, 5,700ish years old;
+ stone circles, menhirs, cairns and mounds, 4,000ish years old;
+ and fogous, rounds, holy wells, crosses and churches, 1,000-2,500ish years old.
In the Bronze Age West Penwith was well known as a source of tin, gold and copper. It sat at the hub of a maritime culture stretching from Portugal to Scandinavia.
There was system to the way Penwith's ancient sites were located and built. They formed a network that knitted into an integral system covering the whole peninsula. This suggests a hidden purpose: a prehistoric geo-engineering project aiming to improve the ecosystem, climate and wellbeing of Penwith's people. A far-fetched idea? Yes. Evidence? Yes, here on this site.
What did the ancients know that we don't? Here you will find maps and ideas about Penwith's ancient sites' possible significance.
Welcome to Belerion - the shining land - a name recorded by the Greek historian Diodorus Siculus in 60 BCE. It still applies today.
Not to be confused with another organisation using the same name without consultation.
About this site
It's about West Penwith's ancient landscape and the where and the why of its megalithic sites.
It suggests why ancient sites were built and shaped as they were, to form a complete system Penwith-wide.
Penwith's prehistory has long been researched by antiquarians, geomancers, dowsers, ley-hunters and archaeologists. This site and the book add to their work, taking it further. Acknowledgements to all of them. Future researchers: please take it even further than this!
It's worth subscribing to Meyn Mamvro, a twice-yearly journal on the archaeology, traditions and earth mysteries of West Penwith and across Cornwall. Or visit the Meyn Mamvro Archive which contains over thirty years of past editions.
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