The UK’s abandoned village that’s 1,500-years old and has secret 65ft underground tunnel

is home to hundreds of . Many are well-known among , while some remain under the radar. The UK is also home to many whose past goes back thousands of years. 

One of them is , which dates back 1,500 years and contains a secret 65ft underground tunnel that has baffled experts for decades. The was an ancient settlement in and was inhabited from the Iron Age to the . Now managed by the , the site features well-preserved stone house foundations, some dating back to the second century AD.

However, its most intriguing feature is a fogou – a mysterious underground tunnel that runs just beneath the surface, roofed with massive stone slabs.

Carn Euny is considered one of the best-preserved ancient villages in southwest England. According to English Heritage, the earliest homes here were likely timber roundhouses built between 500 and 400 BC. 

These were later replaced by stone structures, with the final phase of settlement taking place between the 2nd and 4th centuries AD. 

Today’s remains are the foundations of these later houses, some with walls still standing up to a metre high.

The fogou, which means “cave” in Cornish, was first discovered in the 1840s by tin miners prospecting in the area. 

The passage stretches over 65 feet (20 metres) and features a side chamber leading to a round stone chamber, thought to have once had a domed roof.

The purpose of fogous remains a mystery, but archaeologists suggest they may have been used for storage, shelter, or even ritual ceremonies.

Cornish antiquarian William Copeland Borlase first carried out excavations of Carn Euny in the 1860s. 

However, a full excavation did not take place until the 1960s, when archaeologists unearthed nine hut foundations, postholes, and drainage gullies from the early timber roundhouses. 

The findings revealed that the inhabitants farmed around 40 acres of land, growing oats, barley, and rye and keeping sheep, goats, and cattle. There is also evidence that they may have traded tin, a valuable resource in ancient times.

For unknown reasons, Carn Euny was abandoned around AD 400, towards the end of the Roman period. 

The site remained uninhabited for more than 1,000 years before a small cottage was built there in 1750. 

By the mid-19th century, this had fallen into disuse, leaving only the ancient ruins behind.

Today, Carn Euny is open to the public and free to visit anytime. The site lies near Sancreed, Cornwall, and is overlooked by the Iron Age hill fort of Caer Bran. 

Visitors can park in the nearby hamlet of Brane before walking to the village ruins.