King Arthur site is 4,000 years older than previously thought | Technology News

We might 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.

Archaeologists during an excavation at King Arthur’s Hall revealed that the monument is actually 5,500 years old and dates back to the Neolithic period.

The findings were called a “major revelation” by lead researcher Dr Tim Kinnaird, from the University of St Andrews.

This means archaeologists “should now reassess our understanding of the prehistoric landscape of Bodmin Moor”, he said.

There has been speculation about the date of the site due to its standing stones. It was thought that the mound could be much older.

Dr Kinnaird said: “It’s extremely exciting that we have finally been able to date the construction of this enigmatic monument, previously based on myth and legend.”

The site consists of a rectangular embankment of earth and stone formed by 56 menhirs, some measuring up to 1.8 m, which are either leaning, lying or partially buried.

It has an embankment measuring 49 meters by 21 meters and it is protected by Historic England, who have listed it as an early medieval animal enclosure dating from around 1000 AD.

Cornwall National Landscape, which looks after the county’s conservation lands, commissioned the excavation after initial investigations by a group of local amateurs raised questions about its medieval attribution.

Using a technique called optically stimulated luminescence, or OSL, the site was aged and researchers discovered that the mound was built during the Neolithic period, making it approximately 5,500 years old, or 4,000 years earlier. than previously thought. OSL is used to date the last time sediments were exposed to light, before burial.

Researchers working on behalf of the Cornwall Archaeological Unit (CAU) were joined by volunteers for the excavation, which began in 2022.

Samples taken from the monument, including pollen, insects and parasite eggs, were radiocarbon dated, according to Historic England, to around the same age.

The Middle Neolithic, predating the stone circles of the Bronze Age, was a time when people first began to settle in one place and build enclosures. This therefore suggested that the site could have been a community point or a place to mark special occasions.

However, mystery remains as to the original purpose of the monument known as King Arthur’s Hall.

Speaking to the Guardian, lead archaeologist James Gossip said: “There is no other like this anywhere.

“There is nothing built at this time or later in prehistory that is a rectangular earth and stone bench with a frame 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 that the site is unique in Europe.

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