We could finally have a breakthrough in the legend of King Arthur.
A site on Bodmin Moor in Cornwall, which has long been linked to the medieval folk hero, could be five times older than previously thought.
Archeologists at a dig at King Arthur’s Hall have revealed the monument is actually 5,500 years old and from the Neolithic period.
The findings have been called a ‘major revelation’ by lead researcher Dr Tim Kinnaird, from the University of St Andrews.
It means archaeologists would ‘now have to re-appraise our understanding of the prehistoric landscape of Bodmin Moor,’ he said.
There has been speculation on the site’s date due to its standing stones. It was thought the mound could be much older.
Dr Kinnaird said: ‘It’s extremely exciting that we’ve finally been able to date construction of this enigmatic monument, previously grounded in myths and legends.’
The site consists of a rectangular bank of earth and stone formed with 56 standing stones, some measuring up to 1.8m, which are either leaning, recumbent or partially buried.
It has a bank measuring 49 metres by 21 metres and it’s protected by Historic England, which listed it as an early mediaeval animal pen from around 1000 AD.
Cornwall National Landscape, which looks after the county’s protected land, commissioned the excavation after initial investigations by a group of local amateurs raised questions about its mediaeval attribution.
Who is King Arthur?
King Arthur is arguably one of the most famous characters of myth and legend. However, few scholars believe he existed at all.
It is thought that the person who the myth was based on was actually a high ranking military general in the Roman army.
However, the legendary British king appears in a range of mediaeval romances, with his band of knights around the Round Table.
It is thought the legend possibly originated either in Wales or northern Britain, and it’s thought that through an array of Welsh, English and French literature, King Arthur evolved into the figure we know today
Using a technique called optically stimulated luminescence, or OSL, the site was re-aged and researchers discovered that the mound was built in the neolithic period making it around 5,500 years old – 4,000 years earlier than previously thought. OSL is used to date when sediment was last exposed to light, prior to when it was buried.
The researchers working on behalf of the Cornwall Archaeological Unit (CAU) were joined by volunteers for the dig, which began in 2022.
Samples taken from the monument, including pollen, insects and parasite eggs, were radiocarbon dated, Historic England said to around the same age.
The middle Neolithic, which predates the stone circles of the bronze age, was a time when people were starting to settle in the same place for the first time and building enclosures. So it suggested the site might have been a community point or a place to mark special occasions.
Now, however, there is the mystery of what the original purpose of the monument known as King Arthur’s Hall is.
Speaking to The Guardian, lead archaeologist, James Gossip said: ‘There isn’t another one of these anywhere.
‘There is nothing built at that time or subsequently in prehistory that is a rectangular earth and stone bank with a setting of stone orthostats around the interior.
‘There is no other parallel.’
The name, King Arthur, dates back to at least 1583, but the strange thing is, the site is unique in Europe.
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