Antiquities Evidence of a settlement at Morvah in the early
Middle Ages is in the form of an inscribed stone known as the
Mên Scryfa; it is a memorial to one 'Rialobranus son of Cunovalus', located in a field on a moor about three kilometres from the village. It was first described in a letter written by the antiquary
Edward Lhwyd. The inscription has been dated from the fifth to the eighth century., but more firmly and authoritatively dated to the middle third of the 6th century by Professor
Charles Thomas (
And Shall these Mute Stones Speak, University of Wales Press 1994). In fact, this inscribed stone stands in the parish of Madron, a good mile east of Morvah parish. The finest antiquities of Morvah parish are the Neolithic dolmen of
Chûn Quoit (c. 3500 BC) and the nearby Iron Age hillfort (c. 300 BC) of
Chûn Castle (half of which is also in Madron parish), as well as the Late Iron Age settlement of four distinctively local courtyard houses at Croftoe. These include a rare "semi-detached" dwelling.
Morvah Gold Hoard In 1884 during quarrying for building materials at Morvah, on the coast at Carne Farm, (which lies about half a mile north of
Chûn Castle and quoit), a hoard of gold ornaments was found dating from the late
Bronze Age. The hoard of gold bracelets discovered here consisted of six large bracelets, three with distinctive trumpet-like ends. One also has engraved geometric designs on it. These bracelets were almost certainly either made in Ireland or made from Irish gold, and made their way, probably through trade in exchange for tin, to Cornwall. They now reside in the
British Museum but are a vivid reminder of how relatively well-off Cornwall was in prehistoric times. In 2007 there have been calls in the local Cornish press for the gold hoard to be returned to Cornwall from the British Museum.
Mining Morvah Consols was probably first opened in the 1820s and in 1851 was reported in the
Cornish Telegraph newspaper as a new
copper mine, with funding by the
Levant adventurers. The remains that can be seen today were built from 1871 and was worked by a steam engine with a 30-inch cylinder. A second engine was bought from the
Balleswidden Mine for pumping and stamping and was put up for auction in February 1884. In 1875 the
Stanneries Court closed the mine after it only produced 5 tons 18 cwt of tin concentrate and wages had not been paid. An attempt to sell the mine by auction was abandoned following intimidation of the auctioneers by the mine's workers. There was an attempt to reopen the mine in 1929. ==Local government==