Stithians Reservoir, Cornwall heatwave reveals prehistoric treasures

A collection of cup-marked stones from the Neolithic to Early Bronze age period are amongst the "incredibly special" artefacts to have emerged at Stithians Reservoir near Falmouth in Cornwall.

There is also evidence of medieval farmsteads and modern pottery on the shoreline normally under water.

Archaeoastronomer Carolyn Kennett visited the lake on Monday 18 July and has been left with conflicting thoughts on the event.

She said: "Although the uncovering of the stones and medieval farmstead is fascinating the low water levels at the moment are really concerning.

"I've never seen the water levels as low as this before, although others may have, it is a testament to the dry summer and hot weather we have been having this year."

According to South West Water, the level of the reservoir on 10 July was 57% of its capacity and on par to another dry year back in 1995.

It is asking people to try and reduce water usage to keep the reservoir levels up.

Cups on Stithians lake have been exposed. Picture Elizabeth Dale/Cornish Bird Blog

Ms Kennett admits these figures are "worrying".

She said: "It's quite an eerie feeling walking along the foreshore and seeing all the evidence from past lives being exposed."

But she believes everyone can help play their part by "treating water as a precious resource and preserving it as much as we can."

Describing the fascinating nature of the archaic treasures, Ms Kennett said: "There is a collection of the cup-marked stones all in the same area and it is rare to find so many together in such a localised area in Cornwall.

"They are notable as there are at least 10 stones with multiple cup stone marks laying in quite a limited area, in all they make up a significant collection.

"It is not known why they were created, they are a type of art and theories around them suggest they could have had a deeper significance than being simple artistic expression.

"It is probably the most amount of cup-marked stones in one area in Cornwall, so it is the biggest amount of pre-historic rock art that we have."

She added: "Cup-marking is definitely late or mid-Neolithic and into the Bronze Age they would still be doing it, but it is incredibly difficult to date these type of things."

The Bronze Age was about 4,000 years ago, with the Neolithic period predating it.

She believes the flooded land is why these treasures have survived in "such great condition".

Cup-marked stones, and other remains of buildings and roads are also known to be beneath Drift Reservoir near Penzance.