merlinlocations | Arthurian Legend Sites - Cadbury Castle, England (Reply)

Arthurian Legend Sites – Cadbury Castle

Dodging cows

The legend
Every king has to have a castle and King Arthur was no exception. We all heard the tales of the round-table and the shining Camelot high on a hill. A huge hall of stone and timber with fine pottery gracing the tables. A place where an army could reside in times of war.

While Geoffrey of Monmouth does not mention Cadbury Castle as the site of Camelot (he says Caerleon instead), John Leland states in 1542 that it is indeed Camalat (a local spelling). So what's the real story behind Cadbury Castle?

Reality

First of all, Cadbury Castle is not a castle in the legend sense but a fortified hill-fort used extensively in the 6^th century, the right time for the Arthur of legend. It is quite high (500 ft?) and from the top of the hill, you can easily see Glastonbury and the surrounding area. The sides of the hill-fort are steep and easily defensible.

It was used in Neolithic times (3000 BC) all the way through to the Iron Age when it was settled by the Celts. They built the earthen works around the hilltop and refortified them several times over the years. Building started around 400 BC and it was continuously occupied (including a temple) until around 50AD when the Romans took the hill by force.

There wasn't much of Roman remains but about 470 AD, the ramparts were refortified, a gate and cobbled road were added as well as a timbered 'feasting hall' (63 x 34 feet). Among the remains, a large number of Mediterranean pottery pieces were found – a sign of extensive trading and high status. It was used until about 580 AD.

It was repaired about 1000 AD and coins were even minted there. It was finally abandoned sometime after that.

What is unique about this hill-fort of that particular time period (Arthurian post –Roman) is that it was converted into a large citadel when other hill-forts were only protected residences, not fortifications of this type. It had huge stonework walls 16 feet thick and massive timbers for the hill fort ramparts. It is the only known instance of this large a citadel in this time period - exactly the type of place a 6th century warrior chieftain would use.

The place itself:

The location address is Castle Road, South Cadbury, Somerset

It's not difficult to reach the top but the tracks are muddy at times and you often have to avoid cow dung on the hilltop. It's free but it's on access land. There's not much there in terms of descriptions. And be prepared to dodge cows.

ramparts at the base of the hill entrance to the hill fort where the gate would have been

More ramparts view from the hill fort to Glastonbury Tor