She was named Arthur’s stone for the connections she would have with the legendary King Arthur. Arthur’s Stone is about to be excavated by archaeologists, determined to dig the link between it and the legend from which it takes its name.
Dating from around 5,000 years ago, Arthur’s Stone, or Arthur’s Stone, is one of the best-known Neolithic tombs. In particular because it feeds many legendsestablished before the XIIIe century and the binder to King Arthur: a Breton lord who would have fought against the invasion of the British Isles by the Saxons. Some legends evoke a fight between Arthur and a giant, who in falling would have left the imprint of his elbows in one of the stones.
Others say that during a trip, Arthur would have thrown away a pebble which was in his shoe. During his journey to Arthur’s Stonethe small stone would have grown by magic, so that it would have reached the size of the stones that make up this Neolithic tomb. Other stories explain a connection between the legendary ruler of Camelot and Arthur’s stone, although it is unclear why they originally came into being. The very existence of King Arthur has not been proven to date, and remains for the moment in the state of legend, or myth.
A real funerary complex
Archaeologists prepare to search this tomb, without hoping to find the remains of King Arthur there. But it remains an interesting monument, especially for its history. Because in its beginnings, this assembly of stones belonged to a complex of several tombs, and a mound facing south-west which indicated a “room of the dead”, which made it possible to come and meditate. A few hundred years later, the site was rebuilt, this time facing hills to the south-east. They hope to find there, as during excavations of similar tombs, flints, arrowheads, pottery, and even human remains, probably incomplete. All under theeye attentive to visitors, who will have the opportunity to watch live the excavation ofArthur’s stone. “I think he has great potential.enthused Julian Thomas, archaeologist at the University of Manchester. It is a monument of a completely different kind than the one we had imagined. »
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