MEM23936 - Post-medieval mound on the eastern edge of Burcombe (Monument)

An oval mound, approximately 5-6m across, up to 0.4m high and flat topped was noted by Cornwall Council Archaeology during a walkover survey of Burcombe and Wester Emmetts. No adjacent cuts or ditches were apparent. The earthwork is located on the axis of mound 2 and may be an extension of it, the two features together perhaps representing spoil from relatively early prospecting trenches which has silted or infilled through peat growth. Alternatively, and perhaps more probably, these features may be associated with the nearby Blue Gate Mine, active between c.1835 and WW1 (MMO602). [1] A low turf mound likely generated by prospecting activity was noted during a follow-up walkover survey. This may relate to mining of Iron Ore recorded on Burcombe, but there is a degree of uncertainty of this by the Mires Officer. [2]