A Magickal Journey
King Arthur’s Grave?
Glastonbury Abbey offers the most compelling evidence for King Arthur’s grave.
History: Glastonbury Abbey Cemetery
Since the arrival of Joseph of Arimathea, Glastonbury has been a religious center. The Abbey’s cemetery was used for centuries before St. Dunstan became Glastonbury’s abbot in the tenth century.
At that time, the cemetery was full. St. Dunstan ordered the workmen to pile a very thick layer of soil on top of the existing graveyard. This created enough space for another layer of graves at the Abbey.
During this process, St. Dunstan created new markers for the most important graves. Inscriptions were carved on leaden crosses, which were set horizontally in the ground. (Similar markers were found in nearby Wells Cathedral.) These markers prevented workmen from disturbing older, deeper graves.
One of these lead crosses indicated the grave of King Arthur. This marker remained hidden until the early 12th century.
Prophecy
Before King Henry II died in France in July 1189, he sent a message to the monks of Glastonbury. He said that an old Welsh bard had provided instructions for the discovery of King Arthur’s grave.
According to the King’s Welsh source, the royal grave was between two pyramid-shaped stones in the cemetery at Glastonbury Abbey. Arthur’s oak coffin–not stone–was at least 16 feet underground. King Arthur was buried that deeply, so that his enemies–the Saxons–would not desecrate the grave.
The bard also predicted that the monks would find a leaden cross about seven feet underground, marking the grave.
Prophecy fulfilled
The message from King Henry II reached the Abbey shortly after the King’s death. Soon after that–in September 1189–the new king, Richard II, named Henry de Sully as Glastonbury’s new abbot.
With new responsibilities and administrative changes, it was a year before the new Abbot could act upon Henry II’s message about King Arthur’s grave.
Late in 1190, the monks were digging in the cemetery.
According to some, they were looking for King Arthur’s grave, correctly guessing that its discovery would mean additional revenue for the Abbey, which needed to be rebuilt after fire destroyed most of the buildings in 1184.
In other versions of the tale, the monks were simply digging a grave and accidentally uncovered the marker for King Arthur.
The stories are unanimous in the outcome:
At a depth of about seven feet, a leaden cross was found, attached–face down–to a stone slab. It said in Latin,
Hic iacet supultus inclitus rex Arturius in insula Avallonis
This means, “Here lies buried the famous King Arthur, buried on the Island of Avalon.”
The cross may have had additional notes on the back, indicating that Guinevere was also interred there. Earliest records say that she was described as Arthur’s second wife, in the inscription.
Continuing to dig, following Henry II’s written message, the monks found an oak coffin about 16 feet underground. Inside, they found the bones of a very tall man. His shin bone was estimated to rise about three inches about the height of a normal man’s knee. His skull was enormous. In life, he was about seven feet tall.
According to the 12th century eyewitness account of Gerald of Wales, the skeleton had ten wounds, all of which had healed. One fatal wound remained; it appeared to be a blow to the skull.
There was a second body in the grave. The bones belonged to a woman. The monks saw her blonde hair when they opened the grave, but as soon as one of them touched the yellow locks, the strands crumbled into dust.
The grave is removed, and–later–is lost
The skeletons were returned to their grave, and it was reburied. Apparently, no one was certain how to prove the authenticity of the discovery.
In 1278, King Edward I had the bones moved to a marble coffin, and the lead cross was attached to it. The coffin was set in the main Abbey church, underneath the high altar. The cross remained visible for pilgrims to see, for over 250 years.
In 1539, King Henry VIII dissolved Glastonbury Abbey, along with every other Catholic Church in England. His zealous soldiers may not have realized that the founder of Camelot was buried within the Abbey.
No one knows what happened to the graves of King Arthur and Guinevere after that.
The leaden cross was seen and handled by John Leland around 1540, and later sketched for a 1607 engraving by William Camden.
The cross was last seen in the early 18th century, in the possession of the Chancellor of Wells, Mr. William Hughes.
Since then, although there have been hoaxes and false rumors, only its current owner knows the actual whereabouts of the cross.
Recent excavations and conclusions
In 1958, Raleigh Radford re-excavated the original site of King Arthur’s grave. Since then, there have been other digs at this location.
All of them confirm that the grave was probably from King Arthur’s era, and the site had been excavated in the 12th century.
Although the cross cannot be located, the engraving of it shows lettering consistent with the tenth century. This supports the story about St. Dunstan raising the level of the cemetery during the tenth century. This proves that the legend of King Arthur’s grave–if it is merely legend–dates back nearly two centuries before the grave was discovered in the era of Richard II.
Today, a plaque marks the location where the bodies of King Arthur and Guinevere were originally found at Glastonbury Abbey.
But… was it Arthur?
Many people believe that the body found by the monks was King Arthur. It’s impossible to resolve this question without additional evidence–such as the bones–for analysis.
It is noteworthy that while many sites claim to be Camelot, no other location claims to be the burial place of King Arthur.
However, in most Arthurian tales, King Arthur did not die. According to legend, Arthur was fully healed at Avalon, and he lives today.
In this story, he will return to our world as “the Once and Future King” when he is needed. When that happens, he will restore Camelot to a world which desperately needs it.
All that we can conclude from Glastonbury’s folklore is: If King Arthur actually lived and died, his grave was probably at Glastonbury Abbey.
Glastonbury - the Isle of Avalon?
Glastonbury, England, is one of the most magickal sites on earth. In this series of posts, we will discuss the spiritual and historical events which make Glastonbury fascinating.
Glastonbury’s unique history covers many centuries. Since the Middle Ages, Glastonbury in Somerset has been considered a most likely location of Avalon, the final resting place of King Arthur and Guinevere. However, Glastonbury’s mystical and spiritual history starts far before the era of Camelot.
Glastonbury, the Isle of Glass
Over 2,000 years ago, Glastonbury was an island on the edge of the sea, near the coast of Britain. In Celtic times, it was a great Pagan sanctuary, shown by its ruins dating to the third century, BCE, and even earlier.
In Celtic times, Glastonbury was known as Yniswitrin, a Welsh name meaning “Isle of Glass.” The surrounding county of Somerset was called the Summer Country, referring to the Otherworldly realm of “the Summerland.”
From earliest times, Glastonbury and the Arthurian Kingdom have always been on the edge of the faery world.
As years passed, the landscape changed. Glastonbury acquired its Saxon name and became an inland island, surrounded by a lake.
Today, that lake is gone and Glastonbury Tor rises 500 feet above the land around it, capped by the 14th century chapel of St. Michael. At the foot of the Tor, the serene town of Glastonbury is both a New Age and Christian landmark, and the home of significant spiritual history.
Jesus and Joseph of Arimathea in Glastonbury
There are many links between Jesus, his family, and the Glastonbury area.
According to the Herald’s Office of England’s College of Arms, the Christian history of Glastonbury begins with Ann, the mother of Mary, and Ann’s brother, Joseph (later called “Joseph of Arimathea”).
Ann was born in “Cornouaille,” or Cornwall; her father was probably involved in the mining of tin. Ann’s family had relatives in the Nazareth area, which is where Ann’s daughter, Mary (the mother of Jesus) was born. There is evidence that Ann’s family traveled often.
Ann’s brother, Joseph, moved first to Marmorica in Egypt. Most likely, it was his family with whom Mary and Joseph found shelter, when they fled to Egypt during Herod’s “slaughter of the innocents.”
In early accounts, Joseph of Arimathea is called Joseph de Marmore in reference to his years in Egypt.
Joseph later moved to Arimathea, where he was the Minister of Mines for the Roman government. He travelled to Cornwall and Somerset frequently on business.
(There are tales of Joseph of Arimathea and his nephew, Jesus, in these two regions, but nowhere else in the British Isles. Coincidentally, these are the only two areas in Britain where tin is mined.)
Additional evidence supports these legends: Archaeological digs at Ostia, a seaport of ancient Rome, produced ancient Roman drainpipes. When analysed, the tin used for the drainpipes came from the Mendip Hills, near Glastonbury, England.
According to legend, Joseph brought Jesus to Glastonbury several times when Jesus was in his teens. Together, they built the first church in Glastonbury, on the site where Lady Chapel stands, today.
As early as 597 CE, St. Augustin wrote to Pope Gregory, “In the Western confines of Britain there is a royal island of large extent, surrounded by water…,” where a church was “constructed by the hands of Christ himself.” St. Augustin was referring to the church at Glastonbury.
This church–and the Christianity which flourished here immediately after Jesus’ death–is the reason why, when the world Church Council is seated at the table in the order in which they received Christianity, Great Britain is first, even before Rome