What visitors walk through at Ballowall Barrow today is partly Borlase's own 1878 work: he built up stonework to display the remains and cut the circular passage between the central mound and the apron. Some original central cairn has since vanished, and his accounts show discrepancies. The dry stone walling you see is 19th-century, while the walls behind it are roughly 4,000 years old — and their CGI reconstruction was drawn from today's landscape, so that corridor never existed originally 🕰️
Borlase's 1878 stonework leaves the barrow a mix of original and Victorian fabric
EnglandHeritage
Key facts
- After excavating, Borlase built up stonework to display the remains and created the circular passage that visitors now walk through between the central mound and the apron.
- Some of the original central cairn has since disappeared and Borlase's accounts contain discrepancies.
- The result is described as a confusing mix of original fabric and Victorian reconstruction, far less dramatic than the original sealed cairn would have appeared.
- Correcting an earlier statement in their film "Standing with Stones" that the wall was about 5,000 years old, the presenters note the dry stone walling is 19th-century Borlase work while the walls behind it date to roughly 4,000 years ago.
- They note their CGI reconstruction of the monument is inaccurate because it was based on the present-day landscape, including an artificial corridor that would not have existed originally.
Sources
Ballowall Barrow, St.Justdigitalmonochromeforum.co.uk
Ballowall Barrow is a Bronze age tomb in a spectacular location. There are views down to Cape Cornwall to the north and out towards the Sennen ...
Ballowall Barrow - AllDaysOut!alldaysout.co.uk
The site was excavated in the late 19th Century by WC Borlase who was drawn to the site by miners' tales of strange lights and dancing fairies.
Ballowall Barrowen.wikipedia.org
The construction of the site is unique in consisting of a combination of Neolithic and Bronze Age funerary rituals. A similar site was recorded by Borlase but ...
Places to see in Cornwall - Ballowall Barrowwearecornwall.com
Ballowall Barrow was finally discovered in 1878 by WC Borlase. With no cost for admission, the site is open to visit at any reasonable time during daylight ...
Ballowall Barrow, St Just, Cornwall | Prehistoric Burial Moundbritainexpress.com
The site was first excavated by William Borlase (1848-1899), who was responsible for excavating a number of prehistoric Cornish sites. Archaeology must have run ...
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