Chûn Castle

Chûn Castle is a large Iron Age hillfort near Penzance in Cornwall, England [1]. The fort was built about 2,500 years ago, and fell into disuse until the early centuries AD when it was possibly re-occupied to protect the nearby tin mines [1]. It stands beside a prehistoric trackway that was formerly known as the Old St Ives Road and the Tinners’ Way [1]. The name Chûn derives from Cornish: Chi an Woon (‘the house on the downs’) [1]. Edward Lluyd made a plan of this fort in around 1700 [1]. Notably, the fort has a strategic inner and outer wall and ditch [1]. The remains today are still clearly visible, even though the once twenty-feet-odd walls now stand at around five feet, due to its use in the 19th century as a quarry for buildings in Penzance and Madron [1].