Chysauster

Chysauster is one of the best-preserved ancient villages in Britain. A small community lived and worked here for around 400 years, from about 100BC until the third century AD – by which time much of Britain was under Roman rule. The villagers lived in stone-walled houses, each with a number of rooms arranged round a courtyard – a unique house layout found only in late Iron Age and Romano-British settlements in western Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. Ten houses have been identified, suggesting a community of 50-70 people. The houses are very small. Open hearths, stone basins for grinding grain and covered drains are all visible. Other ancient sites are nearby, including Carn Euny ancient village.