Quoit Alignments
Quoit Alignments
The quoits are, with tor enclosures, the oldest constructed ancient sites in Penwith.
Chûn Quoit, the only remaining intact quoit in Penwith
They have a unique system of alignments between them with signs of a coherent arrangement to them. Some have astronomical orientations. Some are oriented at the same angle to other quoits (that is, alignments between them are parallel).It looks like an integrated, coordinated system, not just a random distribution of tribal quoits. They were trialling in a limited-sized area the principle of a complete system of sites which, a millennium later, was extended to cover the whole peninsula.
The quoits in the northern highlands of Penwith are connected by two- or three-point alignments, often with one extra site between them.
The quoits were thus built as a (for its time) large-scale, coordinated infrastructure project, located in specific positions in relation to each other.
What the quoit-builders were exactly thinking is not clear, but there are distinct signs of sophisticated thinking, and the likelihood is that the quoits were all built within a generation or two, probably by roughly the same team of experts.
On the map the quoit alignments are pink in colour. You can see a Google map of the quoit system by clicking here.
NOTE: When the quoits were built, the menhirs, cairns and stone circles of the Bronze Age did not exist. Much of the landscape was forested, though the quoit area was probably more cleared than other parts of Penwith.
The quoits were built in the Neolithic period around 3700-3500 BCE, so these alignments are probably the oldest in Penwith - the first layer.
Chûn Quoit (below) and Chûn Castle (above). Telephoto from Carn Eanes
In the case of Chûn Castle, the quoit alignment passing through it from Lanyon Quoit to Chûn Quoit helps verify the castle's position as a Neolithic enclosure, which was discovered by the late Craig Weatherhill - it lies underneath the currently visible Iron Age site, centred slightly differently on the top of the hill.This is an example of how geomancy can confirm things that archaeologists suspect are genuine when they lack sufficient evidence to prove it.
Zennor Quoit
In one quoit alignment, Sperris Quoit, Zennor Quoit and Lanyon Quoit are all exactly aligned. More correctly: neighbouring Zennor and Sperris Quoits, a pair of quoits quite close to each other, are mutually oriented to align with Lanyon Quoit. This is no accident - though why is this the only case where three quoits are aligned?Both Lanyon and West Lanyon Quoits, close to each other, are both significant alignment nodes, but Lanyon Quoit has backbone alignments while West Lanyon Quoit has local alignments. Thus they had separate and complementary functions, though they function as a pair.
West Lanyon Quoit - ruined
It's not clear whether all quoits exist for the same reasons - most are ruined or altered, so we cannot tell. Some quoits, such as Sperris, Bosporthennis, West Lanyon and Grumbla Quoits, as well as Giant's Grave, are too damaged. Their similarity or difference to each other remains a mystery. So the main sources of evidence are geomantic.Lanyon Quoit was reconstructed in Victorian times after falling down, so it does not have its original shape and it lacks some vertical orthostats.
Grumbla Quoit is so named because Grumbla (cromlech in Welsh) means 'quoit'. However, Grumbla does not conform to the alignment pattern of other quoits and is something of an outlier, so it might be a stone setting of some kind, not a quoit.
Mulfra Quoit
There are signs that, as energy-generators, some of the quoits were intentionally decommissioned. This is visible at Mulfra and Zennor Quoits, where their capstones have been removed and carefully laid against the quoit, with one vertical stone (orthostat) removed entirely. The quoits are connected to each other by alignment - their builders thought of them as a group. It is an integrated system, suggesting that the quoits were all built around the same time, in one infrastructure building project. However, it might still have taken 2-3 generations to complete.
More on quoits here.
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