Penwith contains several ancient villages of about the first four centuries AD. The largest is Chysauster, containing nine oval houses, some of which are well preserved. The basic house plan is an open courtyard with a round living room opposite the entrance and a long narrow room along one side wall, but most houses have extra rooms and some are very complex. many drains and hearths survive. The people lived mainly by farming. Though subjects of the Roman Empire, these were the native Cornish whose ancestors lived in simple round huts on higher ground.
