Excavation site of King Arthur’s Hall in Cornwall, England. Courtesy of Cornwall National Landscape.
Situated on England’s southwestern coast, Cornwall is known for its rugged cliffs, breathtaking beaches, and rich history. King Arthur, a folkloric hero throughout the medieval literary tradition, is even said to have been born in the county. A renowned site once associated with the mythical king, however, has now been revealed to be more than 4,000 years older than archaeologists originally thought.
King Arthur’s Hall is a rectangular structure nestled in Cornwall’s Bodmin Moor, measuring 69 x 160 feet and studded with 56 standing stones on the inner face of the embankment. Historic England, a government agency, first listed the structure in 1928 and categorized it as a medieval animal pound, a characterization that has since been challenged by new research.
After local amateurs questioned the structure’s medieval attribution, Cornwall National Landscape, an organization that looks after the county’s protected land, commissioned an in-depth excavation. The investigation involved meticulous soil dating, optically stimulated luminescence (OSL), and close collaboration with experts from the universities of Reading, St Andrews, and New Castle.
The excavation ultimately concluded that King Arthur’s Hall dated back more than 5,000 years to Britain’s Neolithic age. King Arthur was said to have lived in the fifth or sixth centuries CE, discarding the structure’s supposed connection to the medieval legend.
Beyond clarifying the structure’s age, the investigation proved how remarkable King Arthur’s Hall truly is within its context.
“There isn’t another one of these anywhere,” James Gossip, the excavation’s lead archaeologist, tells The Guardian. “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.”
Archaeologists have yet to determine the structure’s prehistoric purpose, but Gossip theorizes that it may have been used for community or ceremonial gatherings.
To stay updated on King Arthur’s Hall and new research, follow Cornwall National Landscape on Instagram.
King Arthur’s Hall in Cornwall, England, was discovered to be 4,000 years older than originally thought.
Cornwall National Landscape commissioned an excavation of King Arthur’s Hall in an effort to investigate the site’s true age.
Through soil dating, optically stimulated luminescence, and close collaboration with experts, researchers concluded that King Arthur’s Hall dates back to the Neolithic era.
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All images via Cornwall National Landscape.
Source: Case Study, King Arthur’s Hall
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