Was This Camelot?: Excavations at Cadbury Castle 1966-1970

230 Pages·1972·18.955 MB·English

by  Leslie Alcock

Was this Camelot?
NEW ASPECTS OF ARCHAEOLOGY
Edited by Sir Mortimer Wheeler
Was this Camelot?
Excavations at Cadbury Castle
1966-1970
Leslie Alcock
15 Color Plates
95 Monochrome Plates
36 Line Drawings
STEIN AND DAY,
PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK
To
DVC DME HSG
CL CRM MGS
whose skill and dedication ensured the success of
the Cadbury-Camelot enterprise
First published in the United States in 1972
This edition G, Thames and Hudson 1972
Library of Congress Catalog No. 72-82214
All Rights Reserved
Printed and hound in Great Britain by
Hazell Watson and Viney Ltd, Aylesbury
Stein and Day, Publisher, 7 East 48 Street, New York, N.Y. 100017
ISBN 8128-1505-x
Contents
GENERAL EDITOR’S PREFACE J
FOREWORD 9
Part One: Exploration
I THE GROWTH OF A THEORY
Leiand and the identification of Cadbury as Camelot 11
The authenticity of Arthur and Camelot 14
From antiquarianism to archaeologya t Cadbury Castle 19
Camelot revived 21
II RECONNAISSANCE I966-I967
The topographical data 24
The archaeological and historical data 25
Resources and organization 28
Survey and excavation, iç66 32
The geophysical reconnaissance : instruments and principles 51
The geophysical reconnaissance : survey and results $4
III EXCAVATION I967-I968
Policy and organization 63
The excavation of the defences, 1967 65
The prehistoric defences, 1968 68
The south-west entrance, 1968 69
False clues in the interior, 1967 70
Iron Age pits and buildings 73
Arthurian possibilities, 1968 74
IV FULFILMENT I969-I97O
Policy and organization 76
The exploration of the Arthurian hall, 1969 78
Temples and workshops 79
Houses, circular and rectangular 84
The defences in 1969 and 1970 102
The elusive Arthurian gate 103
Massacre and defence 10$
Part Two: Results
V THE EARLIEST SETTLEMENTS: NEOLITHIC, BRONZE AGE, EARLIER IRON AGE
The enigmatic Neolithic phases 108
Dating the Early Neolithic phase 111
The Late Neolithic and earlier Bronze Age 113
The beginnings of settled li fe 114
The beginning of the Iron Age 118
The first defences 122
VI THE IRON AGE TOWN
Developments in pottery 131
Developments in defence 133
The Iron Age town 135
Iron Age crafts and commerce 153
Fine metalworking 154
The status and function of the Iron Age town 156
VII CELTIC CLIMAX AND DOWNFALL
The end of the Iron Age: historical evidence 159
The ultimate phase in the defences 161
The Durotrigian town 163
Crafts and commerce 164
Metalwork and art 167
The Roman assault 170
Cadbury during the Roman period 172
VIII CAMELOT AND CADANBYRIG
Dating evidence in the late fifth and sixth centuries 174
The defences and gate 175
The hall 177
The status of Cadbury-Camelot 180
The strategic role of the fortress 182
Cadbury and Arthur 193
Saxons and Vikings in Wessex 194
The archaeology of Cadanbyrig 197
IX AFTER CADANBYRIG
Medieval Cadbury 202
After the excavations 204
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE 2IO-II
EPILOGUE 212
appendix: the battle of badon 215
NOTES 217
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 221
INDEX 223