In Cornwall there are Monuments of a very singular kind, which have hitherto escaped the notice of Travellers; and, though elsewhere in Britain, doubtless, as well as here, in like situations, have never been remarked upon (as far as I can learn) by any Writer; they are Hollows, or artificial Basons, sunk into the surface of the Rocks.
The first which I met with of this kind were those cut into a Karn, or large groupe of Rocks, in the tenement of Bosworlas, in the Parish of St. Just, Penwith, in the year 1737. Three of them may be seen, Plate XX. Fig. VII. d, e, f, p. 219.
There are many more Hollows of the same kind on this Karn; and in the tops of several separate large Rocks, which are scattered in the Valley beneath, there are more, and some have one single Bason on their highest part.
From William Borlase’s Antiquities, Historical and Monumental, of the County of Cornwall. Now Mr Borlase’s drawing (here) may not fill you with excitement. But will you get a load of the photos here and here. I would like to confirm that I am officially no longer interested in mere cromlechs and standing stones and hillforts. They simply can’t complete with nature’s sculpture.
