Hay Close enclosure

Hay Close is an archaeological enclosure near St Newlyn East. Its circular appearance initially suggested a possible Neolithic henge, but excavation established a different story: an Iron Age enclosure with activity in the fifth and sixth centuries AD.

Imported pottery and deposits associated with food and animals helped archaeologists explore ideas about gathering, feasting and ritualised behaviour. The evidence concerns how people used a place; it does not identify characters from the later legends of St Newlina.

Hay Close is distinct from the village’s Methodist Preaching Pit. One needed excavation to establish its chronology; the other belongs to a much more recent history of communal gatherings.