Rillaton Barrow
Bronze Age Round Cairn
North of Minions, Cornwall  OS Map Ref SX260719

Rillaton Barrow - looking southeast across Minions towards Caradon Hill

The stone lined cist on the eastern side of the cairn The Rillaton Cup

This round cairn stands 500 metres north-northeast of The Hurlers stone circles on a rise of land known as Rillaton Moor in an area rich in round barrows, cairns, standing stones and natural rock features. It consists of a mound of stone and earth that has a diameter of over 35 metres and stands over 2.5 metres high despise a crater dug into it's top by stone robbers. What is most interesting though is a slab lined cist on it's eastern side and what it was found to contain. This cist which is aligned north-south and is about 2 metres long by 1 metre in width and height was opened by in 1837 by workmen looking for building material who found a skeleton along with a bronze dagger, several faience beads and a decorated pot that contained a corrugated gold cup with a riveted handle. This spectacular find, now known as the Rillaton Cup and thought to date from 2000-1500BC, was handed over as treasure trove and found it's way into King George V's dressing room where he is said to have used it for storing collar studs! It is currently in the British Museum and was thought to be unique in Britain until a similar but partly crushed gold cup was found at Ringlemere in Kent in 2001. Glossary Item: Bronze Age

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