Where was Camelot? : Tales of King Arthur

Cadbury Castle, the best known and most interesting of the reputed sites of Camelot, is a Neolithic earthwork fort in Somerset. It overlooks the Vale of Avalon to Glastonbury, the River Cam, and the old village of Queen Camel, once known as Camel.

A Celtic ceremonial shield dating back to 1200 BCE was unearthed in 1998, indicating that a wealthy clan, king or military lord once lived there. Why was it left behind?

Iron age hill forts date from pre-Roman times and mostly were still in use at the time of the Roman conquest of Britain. Most were abandoned when the Romans came, but can still be recognised today by the series of ditches and banks dug as defenses. There are hundreds all over Britain, but Cadbury Castle is deserving of a closer look.

Excavations reveal that, most unusually, the fort was re-occupied after the Romans left in 410 . (The ramparts were strengthened using masonry from derelict Roman buildings). Since Arthur is thought to have existed in the 5th or 6th Century, this would seem to be promising evidence.

It's been a busy place over the centuries. Saxons fortified it once again for protection from Vikings and there was an Anglo-Saxon church on the hilltop.

It is said that on Midsummer's Day the hill turns to glass and the King can still be seen inside the hollow hill, where he sleeps, waiting for the day when he will return to protect his people in their hour of greatest need.

It doesn't really matter where Camelot may be, for in these modern times, it has come to mean not just a place, but a reflection of a glorious and lost ideal.

There are still many stunning castles to be seen in England. When Camelot is mentioned, what first springs to mind is the images of these architectural mult-purpose buildings (for that's what castles are, part home, part fort, part factory and very good jobs they did of it too).

But for Arthur, castles were almost 500 years in the future.

The All About Arthur Group features a lens collection from many lensmasters on the Matter of Britain.

Drop by and have a look!

Lensmaster WhichCraft sent me this gorgeous postcard all the way across the seas from Cornwall.

This card took 6 days to reach Australia, it took my g-g-grandparents 6 months!

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