Kynance Gate Reconstruction Illustrations

During 2024 the Cornwall National Landscape Monumental Improvement Project, funded primarily by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and other partners, produced new interpretation tools for many of the 40 sites included in the project.

The Monumental Improvement Project seeks to ensure that 40 scheduled monuments listed on the Heritage at Risk Register or classified as vulnerable, are better identified, supported and enjoyed by a wider range of people.

The aim of these new interpretation tools is to engage and educate new audiences about our shared heritage in Cornwall. One of our most popular tools is a collection of new reconstruction illustrations created by James Innerdale, an Artist and Illustrator. Guided by the Project Archaeologist and our partner organisations including the National Trust and Cornwall Archaeological Society, these illustrations will be available to view on physical interpretation panels installed at various sites including Castle Dore, an Iron Age hill fort near Fowey and Kynance Gate, a Bronze Age settlement site near Kynance Cove on the Lizard Peninsula. Furthermore, launching this summer you can find new web pages for all of the Monumental Improvement project sites with historical information as well as intriguing digital assets including aerial photography, 360-Degrees panoramic images and even 3-dimensional models for you to explore.

The development of these illustrations has been a delicate task, balancing the importance of archaeological and historical accuracy, and showing different possible uses of the site. Where a site has seen many different phases of occupation sometimes across thousands of years, we have focussed on sharing the most notable, or best surviving aspect of the site.

For the reconstruction of Kynance Gate, we mapped the roundhouses onto the new topographical plan drawn by Cornwall Archaeological Unit for the project as part of a program of new recording at our sites.

Once we had an idea of the composition of the reconstruction, we introduced different activities and uses of the site including farming, building, cooking and the processing of raw materials.

As we developed the illustrations and added details, James Innerdale added the colour and a plethora of charming details like the pair of choughs. Once everyone was happy with the finished image, it was sent to the signage manufacturer and installed on site as part of conservation works carried out by the Cornwall National Landscape Monumental Improvement Project in the Autumn of 2024.

Find out more on the website: https://cornwall-landscape.org/monument/kynance-gate/

This Article was written by Linus Firth, Monumental Improvement Project Officer Archaeologist. This Article was published in the West Britton, The Cornishman and Cornish Guardian.