Lanyon Quoit

Madron

Map Ref. SW 430337

(Chambered Tomb. Neolithic.) A massive capstone, supported by three uprights covers this impressive tomb. The chamber was originally a rectangular box, with a long low platform at one end. There are the remains of side chambers (cists) at the other end . Believed to be the burial chamber of a long mound, Lanyon Quoit has many unusual features, it is possible that this site may have had a role as a mausoleum or cenotaph.

The location of Lanyon Quoit makes it one of the best-known Cornish quoits. Situated on the road from Madron to Morvah this is an easy site to visit - visible from the road. Lanyon Quiot collapsed during a storm in 1815 - damaging one of the upright stones. The local residents rebuilt the site in 1824 using the remaining three of the original four uprights. The resulting quoit is considerably lower than the original, which "until the 18th century it was possible to sit on horseback beneath it". William Borlase's Antiquities of Cornwall shows that in 1769 it was still possible to ride a horse underneath the capstone. The original structure is believed to have been erected 2500 BCE.

There are a number of other barrows close to Lanyon Quoit, with a longstone located about 90m (100 yards) to the north-west. At the south end of the mound surrounding the quoit, there are the remains of a number of stone burial boxes (cists). These may have been part of a single elongated mound with the quoit, or separate later additions to the site.