The Mammoth Book of King Arthur (97 page)

A series of excavations, especially those under the direction of Leslie Alcock from 1966 to 1970 (one of the most thorough archaeological undertakings at any suspected Arthurian site), showed
several periods of occupation stretching from around 3000
BC
to about 1000
AD
, with at least twelve distinguishable “settlements”. The one
during the Arthurian period was dubbed “Cadbury 11”. It began in around 470 when there was a significant refortification of the hill after a period of disuse. At the summit, which the
locals called Arthur’s Palace, was found evidence of a timbered hall, measuring roughly 19m by 10m. The fortification of the hill was substantial and it was estimated that the site could
house 1,000 warriors plus their families and workers.

The occupation at Cadbury lasted for at least two generations, to about 550, which is precisely the Arthurian period. The inevitable temptation is to suggest that the refortifications were
instigated by Ambrosius and that the site continued to be occupied by Arthur. There is, alas, no direct evidence to support this, but it would be remarkable if Ambrosius were not connected, since
we know from Gildas that his campaign started around the 460s/470s, and only a commander of some authority could have organised such a substantial fortification. There may be some clue in the name
of Cadbury itself, as it means “Cada’s fort.” It is tempting to leap at Cada and imagine this may be Cador, Arthur’s elder half brother, who was called Duke of Cornwall.
Cada is
more likely to be a Saxon name, though it could have been an adoption of a long-substantiated British name. Alcock provides full details of his excavation in
By
South Cadbury is that Camelot
(London, 1972) with an update in
Economy, Society & Warfare Among the Britons and Saxons
(Cardiff, 1987).

Cam,
the river that gave its name to the nearby towns of Queen Camel and West Camel near Sparkford. Camel Hill is to the north of the river whilst at Sparkford the Cam
twists through a series of bends that might have earned the locale the name Camlann in Arthurian times. Cadbury Castle is little more than 1 km away.

Glastonbury.
The purported Isle of Avalon and burial place of King Arthur. These and other associations connected with the Holy Grail, and the abduction of Guenevere by
Melwas, did not appear until the late twelfth century. There is no earlier evidence for any Arthurian connections.
See
Chapter 11 for a full discussion.

Longport.
One of the suggested sites of the battle of Llongborth. It is unlikely that an Anglo-British conflict would have happened here in Arthurian times, but it is
certainly possible a century or two later. The stained glass in the east window of the parish church dates from the late fifteenth century, and it depicts a grail scene with Joseph of Arimathea
carrying two cruets.

Queen Camel,
see
Cadbury.

Sussex (East and West)

Lewes.
Just outside Lewes is Mount Caburn, a major British hill-fort. Below it is Glyndebourne, where the Glynde Reach may be the River Glen of Arthur’s first
battle. It is also a likely site for the British defeat of the Saxons under Aelle at
Mearcrædes burnam
in 485.

Pevensey.
Here was the great Roman fort of
Anderitum
, built as part of the new Saxon Shore defences in the mid 290s. It may not have been occupied by the British
during the early sub-Roman period but it was used as a retreat against the Saxons, probably after 477, and fell to Aelle after a terrible massacre in 491.

Selsey.
Probable first landing site of Aelle in 477.

Wiltshire

Amesbury.
Originally
Ambresbyrig
, “Ambre’s stronghold”, it has long been associated with Ambrosius Aurelianus, who may have used it as a fort in
his campaign against the Saxons. Geoffrey of Monmouth also associates it with Ambrius, a monk who may have founded the monastery here in 979. According to Geoffrey the monastery was built on the
site of the slaughter of Vortigern’s nobles by the Saxons. Malory has Guenevere retire here as a nun and it is the site of her last meeting with Lancelot. Nearby is Stonehenge.

Badbury,
see
Liddington.

Liddington.
Between here and Badbury is the significant Iron Age hill fort now called Liddington Castle but once called Badbury Castle. It is one of the more likely sites
for Arthur’s decisive battle of Badon.

Marlborough.
Local legend suggests that the town’s name is derived from Merlin’s Mount, the name still given to a prehistoric mound in the grounds of
Marlborough College. In the
Domesday Book
the town is recorded as Merleberg and was apparently derived from a similar personal name,
Mærla.

Salisbury Plain.
By the time of the Vulgate
Mort Artu
and Malory’s
Morte Darthur
, this had become the site for Arthur’s final battle at Camlann.
There is nothing in the earlier legends to suggest that what was essentially an internal struggle was fought out here, though the Plain is a likely site for later conflicts between the British and
the Saxons.

Yorkshire, North

Catterick.
Believed by many to be the original site for the Battle of Catraeth as described in
Y Gododdin.
Not all agree with this.
See
Chapter 8 for
discussion.

Knaresborough.
Knaresborough Castle is on a cliff overlooking the town, and may be the site described for Lancelot’s
Dolorous Garde.
It was built in the
1120s and became a favourite of King John, who used it as a base for hunting. He left it in the care of Brian de Lisle who may be the original of Brandin/Brian of the Isles in the Prose
Lancelot.

Sutton on the Forest.
Probably the centre of the old Royal Forest of Galtres. This may be the wood referred to by Geoffrey
as the Forest of
Calaterium, a name sufficiently close to Forest of Celidon to cause possible confusion. Arthur’s seventh battle may have happened here.

York.
The military capital of northern Britain during the Roman period and probably remained so for as long as a form of military command remained in the north. It may
have been the base for Coel and his successors, certainly Peredur and possibly his father Eliffer and grandfather Arthwys. York features heavily in Geoffrey of Monmouth’s story of Ambrosius
and Uther. It is where Octa flees and is besieged, and where later Eosa defeats Uther. Geoffrey has Arthur’s battle on the River Douglas at York against the Saxons. It is also from York that
Geoffrey has Arthur allocate territories to his vassal kings.

SCOTLAND

Borders

Drumelzier.
This tiny village in Upper Tweeddale is supposed to be where Merlin met his death and was buried. The burial site was believed to be just below the church
where a small side stream, the Pausayl, meets the Tweed. However, the Tweed is suppose to have changed its course over the years so the exact spot may well be under the river. The B712 heads west
of the village through Merlindale. This story almost certainly applies to Myrddin Wyllt or Lailoken, who lived wild in the Caledonian Forest for years and met a “triple” death as he
himself had prophesied.

Melrose.
Although the Arthurian connections here are all circumstantial, the combination gives food for thought. South of the town are the Eildon Hills, one of the
suggested sites for Arthur’s battle of Mount Agned. Several medieval romances refer to these hills as the Dolorous Mountains, which may also therefore link them to the Castle of the Maidens
and to Lancelot’s castle called Dolorous Garde. Arthur and his knights are supposed to be sleeping under the Hills awaiting their call to save Britain again. The fort at the top of the Hills
was reoccupied in the fifth century and may have formed the base for a fighting unit. Other nearby localities are linked to Arthur’s battles. Bowden Moor to the south-west is a suggested site
for Badon (on name alone) whilst Stow in Wedale is linked to the battle of Fort Guinnion.

Stow,
see
Melrose.

Yarrow.
Deep in the old Caledonian Forest the area of Hart Fell above Yarrow has been suggested as the possible site of Arthur’s seventh battle.

Central Scotland

Falkirk.
The Roman fort of Caermawr or
Camelon
has been suggested as a site for Camelot. Further north, where the B902 crosses the River Carron into Stenhousemuir,
at the site of the old Carron Ironworks, used to be a Roman building known colloquially as
Arthur’s O’en
or
Arthur’s Furnace.
It was identified as such as far back
as 1293, but the building is long gone and its significance lost. To the west of the town are the Hills of Dunipace, a site suggested, rather weakly, as the location for Arthur’s sixth battle
at Bassas.

Stirling.
Stirling Castle was once believed to be Arthur’s Castle, mostly because of a misinterpretation by William of Worcester of a reference to Arthur’s
court at Sinodun, which he took as a variance on Snowdon. Apparently Stirling was once known to the English as Snodun. In fact, in the twelfth century its name was recorded as Strevelin, an
unlikely confusion with Sinodun. Below the castle heights, near the golf course, is an earthwork called the King’s Knot, known colloquially as the Round Table. It was probably designed in the
fifteenth century or so for tournaments in the area known as the King’s Park.

The area around Stirling has some suggested sites for Arthur’s battles. Stirling Castle itself has been suggested as the Castle of the Maidens and thus as the site for the battle of Mount
Agned. The Links of Forth to the east of the town, south of the river, has been suggested for the Battle of Tribruit, whilst to the west of Stirling along the Forth at Kippen, the Fords of Frew
have been proposed as the site for the battle of the River Bassas. None of these sites have much in their favour but as the three most difficult sites to identify they at least bear some
consideration.

Dumfries & Galloway

Rockcliffe.
South of Dalbeattie overlooking the inlet Rough Firt is the Mote of Mark, a hill-fort which was not only occupied in the sixth century but produced quality
goods: jewels, brooches,
harness fittings. Interestingly, 25km to the west at Gatehouse of Fleet is
Trusty’s Hill
(“Drust’s Hill”) which
contains some uniquely marked Pictish stones. It may suggest a deeper Tristan tradition here, relating to a raid by a Pictish leader, Drust, on a British encampment in Strathclyde.

Edinburgh and the Lothians

Edinburgh
has several associations. The hill to the east of the capital, by Holyrood Palace, is called
Arthur’s Seat
and may be the site of the original
Votadini fort of Din Eidyn. This has led many to believe that Arthur was a prince of the Votadini, an idea seemingly supported by the reference to him in the poem
Y Gododdin.
The site has
been known as Arthur’s Seat from at least the 1400s. Geoffrey of Monmouth believed that Edinburgh was the site of the Castle of the Maidens and of Mount Agned, Arthur’s eleventh
battle.

Linlithgow.
5km south of Linlithgow off the A706 and before Lochcote Reservoir is Bowden Hill, suggested (on no better reason than name) as a possible site for the Battle
of Badon. There are at least four Bowden Hills in Britain, including one near the Eildon Hills (
see
Melrose), plus a village in Wiltshire and a hill in Devon. None of these are serious
contenders.

Perthshire

Arthurbank,
see
Meigle.

Arthurstone,
see
Meigle.

Barry Hill,
see
Meigle.

Meigle.
The museum here has one of the carved stones from a tomb once displayed in the churchyard, which was claimed to mark the burial place of Guenevere. Local legend
claims that she absconded with Mordred and Arthur had her put to death for adultery – some say she was torn to pieces by horses. Evidently there is an Arthurian tradition in the area because
a few kms south-west along the A94 is a house called Arthurstone where once stood an Arthur’s Stone, now lost. A little further along the road is the farm Arthurbank. Across the River Isla
from Meigle, just beyond Alyth, is Barry Hill where Mordred’s castle is supposed to have stood.

Strathclyde

Alclud.
See
Dumbarton.

Ben Arthur.
A mountain at the head of Loch Long also known as The Cobbler. Its name may be associated with the Clan MacArthur and the Dál Riatan prince
Artúir mac Aedan, and has thus been connected to the four battles fought by Arthur in the region of Linnuis.

Darvel.
Near here the Glen Water meets the River Irving near Yeavering Bell. It has been suggested as a site for Arthur’s first battle.

Dumbarton.
The modern name for
Dun Breatann,
the Fort of the Britains, also called Alclud. It was the capital of the British kingdom of Strathclyde that managed to
survive until the end of the ninth century, the last independent British enclave outside of Wales. Gildas was allegedly born here and his father Caw was a prince of Alclud in the late fifth
century. Its major ruler during the Arthurian period was Dyfnwal the Old, who extended his territory across much of northern Britain between the Walls. Some of his exploits may have become subsumed
into Arthurian legend. Geoffrey of Monmouth has Arthur lift a siege of Alclud by the Picts and Saxons. Later legend has this as the birthplace of Mordred, which would suggest that Lot was a Prince
of Strathclyde. Lot appears amongst the descendants of Coel in Rheged and Galloway but the borders between Galloway and Strathclyde must always have been fluid.

Loch Lomond.
According to Geoffrey of Monmouth, Arthur pursued an army of Picts and Scots to Loch Lomond where he trapped them on the islands in the loch. Whilst it is an
unlikely site for Arthur of Badon it’s a very possible site for Artúir mac Aedan of Dál Riata. He may have fought several battles in the area which might relate to
Nennius’s battle list which cites four battles in the region of Linnuis. The Roman geographer Ptolemy called this area Lindum.