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(knights yelling)

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(dramatic fanfare)

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(man groaning)

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I am King Arthur.

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(dramatic music)

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(men yelling)

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Well, okay. I'm Richard Harris,

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but I did play Arthur over 30 years ago

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in the Hollywood musical "Camelot".

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-(horses neighing)
-(armor clattering)

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The author of stage screen,
lived in the Middle Ages,

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the Age of Chivalry, which
began in the 12th century

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and lasted 300 years.

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He was an English king
through and through,

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and he ruled from Camelot

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with his knights of the round table.

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But that's just a fantasy

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and not at all what the
original Arthur was like.

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To find the real man,

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we must go back to the ancient
Britain of the Dark Ages.

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Only there can we
understand the true story

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of this legendary king.

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(dramatic fanfare)

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The tale of King Arthur was
first popularized in the 12th

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century chronicle called

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"The History of the Kings of Britain",

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by Geoffrey of Monmouth, a Welch cleric.

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It was probably based on folk tales

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that had circulated
orally for some 700 years.

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They came down to him from the
fifth century, the Dark Ages,

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when an actual Arthur might
have lived, plenty of time

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for the story to get
jumbled and exaggerated.

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If Geoffrey of Monmouth was
writing about a real life fifth

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century king, then our whole picture

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of a medieval Arthur is wrong.

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We need to start again.

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We have to leave the world
of medieval stone castles

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and penetrate the mysterious Dark Ages.

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For one thing, this was the fifth century

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and there was as yet, no England.

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Therefore, Arthur could not
have been an English king.

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This was Britannia

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and the only people living
here were the Britains.

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A Celtic people who would
one day become the Irish,

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the Welsh, and the Scots.

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Geoffrey of Monmouth's Arthur
must have been a Britain,

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and as a Dark Age king
would've been far less refined

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and probably far less good looking

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than the medieval king
I played in "Camelot".

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Of course, he wouldn't
have had shining armor

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'cause there wasn't any shining armor

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in the fifth century AD.

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He'd have probably looked pretty grubby.

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And I think it's a good idea to try

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and see King Arthur if he ever existed,

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for what he was, a British warlord

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who rallied people against
a threat from outside,

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and he was probably, I suspect,
a pretty unpleasant bit

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of work like most warlords are.

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But can we trust Geoffrey of Monmouth?

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Did he base his story
on a real dark age king?

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(dramatic music)

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Fifth century Britannia
was a land in turmoil.

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The Roman empire was collapsing

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and its legions had
abandoned this remote outpost

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after 300 years of occupation.

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With the Romans gone,

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the Britains came onto
threat from the Anglo-Saxons,

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a Germanic people who had newly immigrated

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from northern Europe.

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The island called Britannia
was a battleground.

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The Celtic Britains versus
the Germanic Anglo-Saxons.

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Slowly the Anglo-Saxons fought
their way across the British

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landscape, seizing control
from the Native Britains

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as they pushed further west.

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Then eventually something

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or someone stopped them
dead in their tracks.

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Could it have been a real
fifth century warrior king?

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There is evidence for this
on a hill on the outskirts

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of Salisbury in Wilshire
in the south of England.

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This used to be an Anglo-Saxon cemetery.

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According to John Hines,

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an archeologist from Cardiff University.

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Graves are the best way of plotting

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how far the Anglo-Saxons advanced

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because their burial
practices are so distinctive.

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The line of graves keeps moving westward,

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until it suddenly stops.

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Something stood in their path,

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a line in the sand that seriously delayed

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the Anglo-Saxon onslaught.

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It comes up to a line in which runs just

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outside Salisbury, which suggests

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that at this point the
Anglo-Saxons really had come

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to some sort of boundary, some
sort of geographical line,

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which they weren't able
to cross at that point.

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So someone, somehow,

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brought those invaders to their knees,

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but who inspired and led the resistance?

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Who saved the Britains?

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If the tales of Arthur
had never been written,

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it seems you'd have to
invent him to make sense

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of the period and its archeology.

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So the question is, not
did a warrior leader exist,

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but could this dark age
hero's life be the true story

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upon which the fabulous legend
of King Arthur was based?

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(dramatic Celtic music)

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To find out, we start at the
beginning of Monmouth's tale,

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on the north coast of the British county

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of Cornwall in Tintagel.

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It's where Arthur came into the world.

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As fantastical as his life
was, so was his beginning.

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His tale begins nearby In the
castle of the Duke of Cornwall

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and his beautiful wife, Igraine.

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Igraine had a passion

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for another nobleman, Uther Pendragon.

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The feeling was clearly mutual.

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The Duke felt he had to
act to save his marriage,

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so he locked Igraine up
in his summer residence.

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The jealous Duke sent his
wife away to the safety

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of the fortress of Tintagel, hoping that

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that would stop them
consummating their love.

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But Uther Pendragon says
Geoffrey's tale, asked a sorcerer

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to make him look like the Duke

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so he could enter the
fortress unchallenged.

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That sorcerer was the wizard Merlin.

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Merlin agreed to Luther
Pendragon's request on condition

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that any child born of the
union be handed over to him.

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Luther lustily agreed.

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(thunder crackling)

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One night disguised as
the Duke of Cornwall,

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Luther Pendragon entered
Tintagel and seduced Igraine.

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And Arthur was born.

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(baby cooing)

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On the face of it,

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the story has no basis in history.

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The ruins here belonged
to a medieval castle built

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after Geoffrey of
Monmouth wrote the legend.

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Why then would Geoffrey locate
Arthur's birthplace here?

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Perhaps he knew

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that Tintagel was a real
settlement in the dark ages,

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and remarkably, there
are clues that it was.

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-(seagulls cawing)
-(waves crashing)

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In 1998, archeologists were digging near

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to the main ruins.

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Chris Schneider, archeologist
at Marymount University

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followed the excavations closely.

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During the recent excavations,
they uncovered a slate

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that was being used as a drain cover.

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It was originally part
of another structure.

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When they turned it over,
they found this wonderful

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inscription, which is very
exciting news for historians

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and archeologists of the
fifth and sixth century.

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They were excited because the
inscription was written in

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fifth century Latin script.

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It meant that Tintagel
was in fact occupied

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in the dark ages, at a time
when Geoffrey says Arthur lived.

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But could a future warrior King
really have been born here?

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The Latin slate is a revealing clue.

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In the dark ages, very
few people could write.

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Those who could usually lived
in a monastery or a palace.

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Initially, the remoteness of
Tintagel suggested a monastery,

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but archeology showed
it wasn't a monastery.

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It was a palace.

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To judge from the heaps of
broken pottery found here,

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most of it dating from the fifth century.

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(dreamy music)

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The broken pieces came from expensive jars

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and glasses like these,

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and were used to enjoy
exalted luxuries such

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as wine from the Mediterranean.

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Someone with a taste

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for the finer things in life lived here,

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only someone wealthy

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and powerful could have
afforded to buy such luxuries.

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A king, perhaps.

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(objects crashing)

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(dramatic music)

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Tintagel, as it turns
out, was a trading hub

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and further excavations
uncover the remains

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of a fifth century harbor here.

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(fanciful music)

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The number of pottery
found at Tintagel suggests

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that this may have been
a port where goods were

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transported in large scale

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from the Mediterranean and from France.

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And such large scale suggests
a king is exercising control

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over this trade and
redistributing these goods.

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(dramatic music)

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[Richard] They then found
a moat defended by the sea.

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Tintagel must have been a royal fortress,

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but only used for part of the year.

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(dramatic music)

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British kings of the fifth

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and sixth centuries appear
to be itinerant kings

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and they didn't have permanent courts,

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but they moved from court to court,

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sometimes holding court
at sites like this,

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remote, exposed to the weather.

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00:12:23,910 --> 00:12:26,340
Maybe they were only here
seasonally, maybe only summer

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occupation at Tintagel.

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00:12:30,480 --> 00:12:34,098
A fifth century royal
stronghold like Tintagel

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is just the kind of place
where a future warrior

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king might be conceived.

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I'm sure many were.

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00:12:42,597 --> 00:12:45,347
(waves crashing)

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00:12:47,910 --> 00:12:50,400
So our Arthur is born

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00:12:50,400 --> 00:12:52,140
and is living in the far west

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00:12:52,140 --> 00:12:54,663
of Britain in the middle
of the fifth century.

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What he needs now are some
magical swords to work with.

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00:13:00,540 --> 00:13:02,520
Where will he get them?

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00:13:02,520 --> 00:13:06,330
When we return, we'll find
that the swords are even older

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00:13:06,330 --> 00:13:07,831
than King Arthur himself.

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00:13:07,831 --> 00:13:10,581
(dramatic music)

215
00:13:18,351 --> 00:13:21,000
(hoof beats thudding)

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00:13:21,000 --> 00:13:23,400
It was Merlin, all the tales say,

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who was the mentor of young Arthur.

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00:13:26,370 --> 00:13:29,340
He taught Arthur all the
skills needed by a prince.

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00:13:29,340 --> 00:13:33,350
Riding, hunting, games, and
most important, swordplay.

220
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(eerie music)

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00:13:38,670 --> 00:13:41,460
When storytellers elaborate
on Geoffrey's legend,

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they're always harping on about swords

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00:13:43,530 --> 00:13:45,803
with astonishing magical powers.

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00:13:45,803 --> 00:13:48,636
(twinkly chiming)

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00:13:54,870 --> 00:13:57,990
Once upon a time, they say,
a mighty gleaming sword was

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thrust deep into a huge stone

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00:14:00,330 --> 00:14:02,973
and only one man was
destined to pull it out.

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00:14:04,350 --> 00:14:06,693
That man would be the king of Britain.

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00:14:09,750 --> 00:14:10,707
The fiercest warlords

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00:14:10,707 --> 00:14:14,433
and the strongest soldiers
tried in vain to free the blade.

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00:14:16,530 --> 00:14:18,180
Then young Arthur stepped forward

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00:14:19,133 --> 00:14:20,662
and pulled the sword out easily.

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00:14:20,662 --> 00:14:23,245
(solemn music)

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00:14:38,220 --> 00:14:40,920
Archeologist Francis Pryor doesn't think

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that tale is a complete fantasy.

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00:14:43,650 --> 00:14:45,450
He believed that the story is the memory

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00:14:45,450 --> 00:14:48,813
of a very real craft
practiced in ancient times.

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00:14:51,930 --> 00:14:55,413
Long before Arthur's time,
swords were cast in bronze.

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00:14:56,250 --> 00:14:58,890
According to Francis Pryor,

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00:14:58,890 --> 00:15:02,550
it's this process that lies
at the root of the legend.

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00:15:02,550 --> 00:15:07,550
A bronze sword was made in a
two piece mold out of stone,

242
00:15:08,190 --> 00:15:09,933
closely fitted together,

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00:15:10,950 --> 00:15:15,030
and the stone of the
mold has to be heated up

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00:15:15,030 --> 00:15:17,130
to very nearly the same temperature

245
00:15:17,130 --> 00:15:19,020
as the molten bronze going into it.

246
00:15:19,020 --> 00:15:22,960
So you pour the molten
bronze into the mold

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00:15:27,000 --> 00:15:30,240
and then you wait for a few
minutes, let it to cool down,

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00:15:30,240 --> 00:15:33,120
and you remove some
pins which hold the two

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00:15:33,120 --> 00:15:34,582
halves of the mold together.

250
00:15:34,582 --> 00:15:37,332
(dramatic music)

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00:15:49,345 --> 00:15:51,630
And it's that withdrawing
from the center of the mold,

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00:15:51,630 --> 00:15:54,900
which I think lies at the root of Arthur

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00:15:54,900 --> 00:15:56,850
and the sword in the stone.

254
00:15:56,850 --> 00:15:59,600
(dramatic music)

255
00:16:02,310 --> 00:16:04,155
But the sword in the stone is only one

256
00:16:04,155 --> 00:16:06,813
of two great swords in the story.

257
00:16:09,210 --> 00:16:12,270
One day, when he was
fully grown into a man,

258
00:16:12,270 --> 00:16:14,285
Arthur needed a new sword.

259
00:16:14,285 --> 00:16:17,035
(dramatic music)

260
00:16:31,710 --> 00:16:34,560
Merlin told him where he
could find a magical blade

261
00:16:34,560 --> 00:16:35,613
fit for a king.

262
00:16:37,830 --> 00:16:42,240
In a secret lake lived an
underwater enchantress,

263
00:16:42,240 --> 00:16:43,743
the Lady of the Lake.

264
00:16:44,760 --> 00:16:49,000
She controls the most powerful
sword of all, Excalibur.

265
00:16:49,000 --> 00:16:52,410
(dramatic music)

266
00:16:52,410 --> 00:16:54,573
Now there's a fantasy image,

267
00:16:58,080 --> 00:17:00,630
but there may be an
element of truth in it.

268
00:17:00,630 --> 00:17:03,150
Archeologists in Britain
have found countless

269
00:17:03,150 --> 00:17:04,680
ancient sword blades.

270
00:17:04,680 --> 00:17:07,713
Guess where? At the bottom
of lakes and rivers.

271
00:17:09,390 --> 00:17:12,240
I think actually placing swords in water

272
00:17:12,240 --> 00:17:14,283
is part of a rite of passage.

273
00:17:15,690 --> 00:17:20,430
When somebody died, let's
say a powerful warrior,

274
00:17:20,430 --> 00:17:25,170
the sword was placed in the
water as perhaps a symbol of

275
00:17:25,170 --> 00:17:29,013
that warrior's journey
into the next world.

276
00:17:30,090 --> 00:17:32,310
To go on a warrior's journey requires

277
00:17:32,310 --> 00:17:34,500
first that you be a warrior.

278
00:17:34,500 --> 00:17:35,910
Arthur was said to have earned his

279
00:17:35,910 --> 00:17:37,533
reputation on the battlefield.

280
00:17:40,625 --> 00:17:42,810
So it's here we must
look for further evidence

281
00:17:42,810 --> 00:17:44,794
of a real fifth century king.

282
00:17:44,794 --> 00:17:47,544
(dramatic music)

283
00:17:50,160 --> 00:17:52,290
The archeological record confirms

284
00:17:52,290 --> 00:17:54,840
that the Anglo-Saxons
conquered the eastern half

285
00:17:54,840 --> 00:17:57,660
of the country, but
for more than 50 years,

286
00:17:57,660 --> 00:18:00,393
they were held at bay in
the eastern half of Britain.

287
00:18:09,198 --> 00:18:11,820
Now, Geoffrey of Monmouth
writes that it was Arthur

288
00:18:11,820 --> 00:18:14,580
who crushed the advancing
Saxons in a series

289
00:18:14,580 --> 00:18:17,223
of heroic battles all
along the front line.

290
00:18:18,840 --> 00:18:20,493
The mystery is how.

291
00:18:22,050 --> 00:18:26,523
The big problem facing an
Arthur-like warrior was this,

292
00:18:27,840 --> 00:18:31,263
how to move his troops
swiftly across the country.

293
00:18:36,450 --> 00:18:38,010
Well, the Romans had left something

294
00:18:38,010 --> 00:18:40,143
behind the would've helped the Britains.

295
00:18:44,580 --> 00:18:47,250
The infrastructure of Britain was nothing

296
00:18:47,250 --> 00:18:49,893
to boast about, was it ever.

297
00:18:51,090 --> 00:18:53,520
But a warrior King could
at least take advantage

298
00:18:53,520 --> 00:18:56,553
of one key legacy of the Roman occupation.

299
00:19:00,284 --> 00:19:02,884
(rocks crashing)

300
00:19:02,884 --> 00:19:05,801
(triumphant music)

301
00:19:11,581 --> 00:19:12,930
The Romans had built a vast network

302
00:19:12,930 --> 00:19:16,170
of straight roads linking
every corner of Britain,

303
00:19:16,170 --> 00:19:18,963
for the very purpose of
moving their legions around.

304
00:19:20,311 --> 00:19:22,140
And although the Romans had
left Britain a hundred years

305
00:19:22,140 --> 00:19:25,228
earlier, the roads were
still in working order.

306
00:19:25,228 --> 00:19:28,145
(triumphant music)

307
00:19:36,346 --> 00:19:38,430
A working knowledge of
the Roman roads meant

308
00:19:38,430 --> 00:19:40,980
that a warrior king
could keep a step ahead

309
00:19:40,980 --> 00:19:43,713
and ambush the Anglo-Saxon
settler as it will.

310
00:19:48,335 --> 00:19:53,335
-(men yelling)
-(triumphant music)

311
00:20:12,900 --> 00:20:15,420
Here, on the battlefields of Britain,

312
00:20:15,420 --> 00:20:18,513
history and fiction begin to converge.

313
00:20:23,010 --> 00:20:26,160
Many experts believe the
Arthurian legend is a clear

314
00:20:26,160 --> 00:20:29,490
indicator that one great
king, perhaps called Arthur,

315
00:20:29,490 --> 00:20:32,343
was responsible for
these military successes.

316
00:20:33,720 --> 00:20:35,643
Our great problem with Arthur is

317
00:20:35,643 --> 00:20:36,840
that there must have been a lot

318
00:20:36,840 --> 00:20:38,490
of other warriors around at his time.

319
00:20:38,490 --> 00:20:40,260
Little though we know it,
we need to know why it is

320
00:20:40,260 --> 00:20:43,503
that he got picked out as the
great hero everyone remembers.

321
00:20:45,660 --> 00:20:48,450
I think that because he's
associated with a list of battles,

322
00:20:48,450 --> 00:20:50,430
which we can't credit to other leaders,

323
00:20:50,430 --> 00:20:52,050
and because he's remembered first

324
00:20:52,050 --> 00:20:53,820
and foremost as a war leader,

325
00:20:53,820 --> 00:20:55,683
he probably was a real human being.

326
00:21:00,450 --> 00:21:03,450
So what we've got now is a warlord

327
00:21:03,450 --> 00:21:04,890
with a fearsome reputation

328
00:21:04,890 --> 00:21:07,503
for keeping the Anglo-Saxon wolf at bay.

329
00:21:08,340 --> 00:21:11,523
But what about his opulent
lifestyle, his castles?

330
00:21:12,480 --> 00:21:15,843
As we shall see, not all
of that is pure fantasy.

331
00:21:18,300 --> 00:21:20,400
In Geoffrey of Monmouth's medieval account

332
00:21:20,400 --> 00:21:21,720
of Arthur's story,

333
00:21:21,720 --> 00:21:23,610
the reward for all his victories is

334
00:21:23,610 --> 00:21:26,220
to be crowned king of all the Britains.

335
00:21:26,220 --> 00:21:29,430
And it's only in later
medieval versions of the story,

336
00:21:29,430 --> 00:21:32,400
we are told Arthur ruled from Camelot.

337
00:21:32,400 --> 00:21:34,953
But is there any evidence
for such a place?

338
00:21:36,930 --> 00:21:39,780
This is the classic image of Camelot,

339
00:21:39,780 --> 00:21:42,330
the romantic castle city at the heart

340
00:21:42,330 --> 00:21:44,910
of the Arthurian legend,
where the bloodied

341
00:21:44,910 --> 00:21:47,250
but victorious author rules the land

342
00:21:47,250 --> 00:21:49,440
with his beloved queen Guinevere

343
00:21:49,440 --> 00:21:51,333
and his faithful knights at his side.

344
00:21:52,890 --> 00:21:56,160
But stone castles like these
date from the middle ages,

345
00:21:56,160 --> 00:21:58,560
they're a far cry from
the dark age earthen

346
00:21:58,560 --> 00:22:00,693
stronghold of a real Arthur.

347
00:22:07,980 --> 00:22:11,253
A fifth century Camelot
would've been a hill fort,

348
00:22:12,540 --> 00:22:15,120
identifying which one
has proved a headache

349
00:22:15,120 --> 00:22:17,430
for Arthurian sleuths.

350
00:22:17,430 --> 00:22:20,463
Dark aged kings were always
moving between forts.

351
00:22:22,320 --> 00:22:25,680
But in another corner of
southwest Britain in Somerset,

352
00:22:25,680 --> 00:22:28,050
historians and archeologists have stumbled

353
00:22:28,050 --> 00:22:29,883
upon remarkable leads.

354
00:22:32,010 --> 00:22:35,700
The clues were first
spotted as long ago as 1542

355
00:22:35,700 --> 00:22:39,930
by John Leland, an Aquarian,
fascinated by the legend

356
00:22:39,930 --> 00:22:41,760
of Arthur and Camelot.

357
00:22:41,760 --> 00:22:46,350
He found a River Camel, and
two villages, West Camel

358
00:22:46,350 --> 00:22:49,080
and Queen Camel in Somerset.

359
00:22:49,080 --> 00:22:51,573
Their names had the same root as Camelot,

360
00:22:53,430 --> 00:22:55,390
But there was no castle in sight

361
00:22:57,270 --> 00:23:00,810
until he took a closer look
at an imposing local landmark,

362
00:23:00,810 --> 00:23:04,983
just four miles from the
Camel villages, Cadbury Hill.

363
00:23:08,430 --> 00:23:10,923
Today trees obscure much of the view.

364
00:23:12,090 --> 00:23:14,820
But in the 16th century, Leland noticed

365
00:23:14,820 --> 00:23:18,180
that the hill was surrounded
by no fewer than four lines

366
00:23:18,180 --> 00:23:19,713
of banks and ditches.

367
00:23:20,850 --> 00:23:23,730
They were manmade, the telltale signs

368
00:23:23,730 --> 00:23:25,233
of an ancient hill fort.

369
00:23:27,433 --> 00:23:30,360
It wasn't the image of grandeur
we associate with Camelot,

370
00:23:30,360 --> 00:23:33,960
but in the fifth century, kings
and warlords lived austere

371
00:23:33,960 --> 00:23:37,860
and simple lives, and
the fort was so close

372
00:23:37,860 --> 00:23:39,540
to the Camel villages

373
00:23:39,540 --> 00:23:42,843
that Leland believed he had
found King Arthur's Camelot.

374
00:23:44,190 --> 00:23:48,660
The trouble, of course, was
that Leland did not have a shred

375
00:23:48,660 --> 00:23:51,333
of archeological evidence to prove it.

376
00:23:52,470 --> 00:23:55,980
But then in 1966, round about the time

377
00:23:55,980 --> 00:23:57,720
I was filming "Camelot",

378
00:23:57,720 --> 00:24:02,163
archeologists began to
dig here on Cadbury Hill.

379
00:24:03,960 --> 00:24:07,380
Would they prove Leland
and right, or show once

380
00:24:07,380 --> 00:24:09,813
and for all that this was not Camelot?

381
00:24:11,610 --> 00:24:14,133
Two years into the dig,
they had a breakthrough.

382
00:24:15,390 --> 00:24:20,100
Right here in the southwest
corner of the fort,

383
00:24:20,100 --> 00:24:23,159
they unearthed the
foundations of a gate tower.

384
00:24:23,159 --> 00:24:25,909
(dramatic music)

385
00:24:28,953 --> 00:24:32,040
The size and layout of the post
holes allowed archeologists

386
00:24:32,040 --> 00:24:35,536
to walk out what the gate
tower would've looked like.

387
00:24:35,536 --> 00:24:38,190
(dramatic fanfare)

388
00:24:38,190 --> 00:24:39,690
On both sides of the tower,

389
00:24:39,690 --> 00:24:42,240
they also found the
remains of massive stone

390
00:24:42,240 --> 00:24:45,783
and timber ramparts three
quarters of a mile long.

391
00:24:49,110 --> 00:24:52,800
Although only 6% of the
site has been excavated,

392
00:24:52,800 --> 00:24:53,970
this is clearly the kind

393
00:24:53,970 --> 00:24:56,253
of place a warlord would've ruled from.

394
00:24:58,110 --> 00:25:01,170
But was it in use in the fifth
century where we are looking

395
00:25:01,170 --> 00:25:02,703
for a real life Arthur?

396
00:25:04,680 --> 00:25:07,080
The best way of dating a settlement is

397
00:25:07,080 --> 00:25:08,793
through pottery remains.

398
00:25:10,410 --> 00:25:13,350
One day, by the base of the gate tower,

399
00:25:13,350 --> 00:25:16,443
the archeologists found just
what they were looking for.

400
00:25:18,540 --> 00:25:19,710
The remains of cracked

401
00:25:19,710 --> 00:25:22,710
and worn out pots discarded
by dark aged people

402
00:25:22,710 --> 00:25:26,103
who traditionally threw their
garbage outside the gates.

403
00:25:28,680 --> 00:25:33,573
The pieces dated for the fifth
century AD, Arthur's time.

404
00:25:36,030 --> 00:25:39,423
The archeologist then made the
most significant find of all.

405
00:25:40,380 --> 00:25:43,800
This hill fort had been
refortified during the second half

406
00:25:43,800 --> 00:25:44,853
of the fifth century.

407
00:25:45,840 --> 00:25:48,180
In its size and defensive structure,

408
00:25:48,180 --> 00:25:50,823
it was unique in fifth century Britain.

409
00:25:52,050 --> 00:25:53,763
This was a mighty fortress.

410
00:25:54,763 --> 00:25:55,596
(dramatic music)

411
00:25:55,596 --> 00:25:57,810
This appears to be the
citadel of the king.

412
00:25:58,770 --> 00:26:01,800
It has great commanding views of the area.

413
00:26:01,800 --> 00:26:04,595
The Britains would've fled
to places like this as places

414
00:26:04,595 --> 00:26:08,310
of refuge with Anglo-Saxon war bands

415
00:26:08,310 --> 00:26:12,120
and kings expanding their
territories in this direction.

416
00:26:12,120 --> 00:26:15,570
That would've taken over 800
men to defend the ramparts

417
00:26:15,570 --> 00:26:17,250
of Cadbury Castle alone.

418
00:26:17,250 --> 00:26:19,470
Now, given that the size of
the average war band in this

419
00:26:19,470 --> 00:26:21,820
period is well under a
hundred men, this appears

420
00:26:21,820 --> 00:26:24,570
to be the undertaking of a powerful figure

421
00:26:24,570 --> 00:26:26,823
who could command enormous resources.

422
00:26:28,050 --> 00:26:30,963
Could Cadbury be the
real dark age Camelot?

423
00:26:33,330 --> 00:26:36,180
Geoffrey of Monmouth
doesn't mention Camelot,

424
00:26:36,180 --> 00:26:39,180
but he does tell us how Arthur held court.

425
00:26:39,180 --> 00:26:41,580
That is, he encircled
himself with a brotherhood

426
00:26:41,580 --> 00:26:44,583
of loyal knights, the
Knights of the Round Table.

427
00:26:45,600 --> 00:26:47,600
Is there evidence of such a round table?

428
00:26:48,655 --> 00:26:51,405
(dramatic music)

429
00:26:55,410 --> 00:26:57,750
The medieval historian
Geoffrey of Monmouth,

430
00:26:57,750 --> 00:27:00,150
celebrates Arthur's
brotherhood of knights,

431
00:27:00,150 --> 00:27:01,700
the Knights of the Round Table.

432
00:27:02,910 --> 00:27:05,353
In fact, in time, stories of the knights

433
00:27:05,353 --> 00:27:08,583
become more important than Arthur himself.

434
00:27:10,500 --> 00:27:14,223
That round table is one of the
strongest Arthurian images.

435
00:27:15,420 --> 00:27:18,720
It conjures up a time of
chivalry and refinement.

436
00:27:18,720 --> 00:27:22,170
At first glance, it's hard to
reconcile that medieval image

437
00:27:22,170 --> 00:27:26,250
with the coarse life in
a dark age hill fort.

438
00:27:26,250 --> 00:27:29,730
But, archeological
discoveries on Cadbury Hill

439
00:27:29,730 --> 00:27:32,270
have raised intriguing possibilities.

440
00:27:32,270 --> 00:27:35,187
(triumphant music)

441
00:27:38,760 --> 00:27:41,130
The evidence came from the raised mound

442
00:27:41,130 --> 00:27:42,753
in the center of the hill fort.

443
00:27:45,210 --> 00:27:49,770
Along with hundreds of fragments
of fifth century pottery,

444
00:27:49,770 --> 00:27:54,363
archeologists found post
holes laid out in a pattern.

445
00:27:59,430 --> 00:28:02,655
The post holes and the shards
of pottery told them that

446
00:28:02,655 --> 00:28:05,505
they have found the remains
of a dark aged timbered hall.

447
00:28:06,637 --> 00:28:09,554
(dramatic fanfare)

448
00:28:15,005 --> 00:28:18,840
The hall was 60 feet long
by 30 feet wide, big enough

449
00:28:18,840 --> 00:28:21,190
to host a gathering of warlords.

450
00:28:21,190 --> 00:28:24,107
(dramatic fanfare)

451
00:28:25,320 --> 00:28:27,360
But it was inside the hall

452
00:28:27,360 --> 00:28:30,690
that archeologists unearthed
some tantalizing links

453
00:28:30,690 --> 00:28:33,017
to the legendary round table.

454
00:28:33,017 --> 00:28:35,820
(dramatic fanfare)

455
00:28:35,820 --> 00:28:38,460
Once again, it was pieces of pottery,

456
00:28:38,460 --> 00:28:41,378
this time from broken wine jars.

457
00:28:41,378 --> 00:28:46,378
-(men chattering)
-(objects clattering)

458
00:28:51,540 --> 00:28:54,240
It was obvious from the sheer quantity

459
00:28:54,240 --> 00:28:56,820
of wine jars found in the hall

460
00:28:56,820 --> 00:29:00,633
that the main activity here was drinking.

461
00:29:01,837 --> 00:29:04,920
A sensible way to relax you might say,

462
00:29:04,920 --> 00:29:07,263
after a hard day fighting the Saxons.

463
00:29:08,490 --> 00:29:10,997
But a sixth century poem
reveals how drinking

464
00:29:10,997 --> 00:29:13,623
and the round table might be linked.

465
00:29:14,947 --> 00:29:16,410
"The Gododdin" describes

466
00:29:16,410 --> 00:29:19,680
how warrior nobles came
together in feasting halls

467
00:29:19,680 --> 00:29:21,243
to drink wine and meat.

468
00:29:22,830 --> 00:29:25,860
The round table was likely
nothing more than a metaphor

469
00:29:25,860 --> 00:29:28,920
for male bonding, a draft of courage

470
00:29:28,920 --> 00:29:30,993
before going out to die for your king.

471
00:29:32,010 --> 00:29:33,690
There's a gem of truth there.

472
00:29:33,690 --> 00:29:36,270
The idea of equality and
brotherhood inside a body

473
00:29:36,270 --> 00:29:38,955
of retainers and war band,
professional warriors.

474
00:29:38,955 --> 00:29:42,450
They are really quite extensive

475
00:29:42,450 --> 00:29:44,761
by the standards of their day.

476
00:29:44,761 --> 00:29:47,400
They have weapons to sometimes
handed down for generations.

477
00:29:47,400 --> 00:29:50,696
They drink epic quantities
of high grade alcohol

478
00:29:50,696 --> 00:29:55,680
and they're kept fed upon
things like peppered chops,

479
00:29:55,680 --> 00:29:59,970
given a really high, nowadays
rockstar lifestyle in exchange

480
00:29:59,970 --> 00:30:02,403
being prepared to die for their prince.

481
00:30:05,010 --> 00:30:07,143
But what about the round table itself?

482
00:30:09,330 --> 00:30:11,943
Well, perhaps we're taking
the image too literally.

483
00:30:15,660 --> 00:30:17,810
There may be nothing in
archeology suggesting

484
00:30:17,810 --> 00:30:22,810
that dark age warlords
sat at round tables,

485
00:30:22,980 --> 00:30:26,350
but they would have clustered
around the central hearth

486
00:30:28,177 --> 00:30:29,213
of their feasting halls.

487
00:30:31,620 --> 00:30:32,760
So the legendary image

488
00:30:32,760 --> 00:30:35,070
of Arthur having his
knights in council needs

489
00:30:35,070 --> 00:30:36,450
to be adjusted a bit.

490
00:30:36,450 --> 00:30:39,634
It may not be as fantastic as it seems.

491
00:30:39,634 --> 00:30:44,634
-(dramatic music)
-(hoof beats thudding)

492
00:30:46,020 --> 00:30:48,240
If Geoffrey of Momouth's medieval story

493
00:30:48,240 --> 00:30:51,180
is based on a fifth century fact,

494
00:30:51,180 --> 00:30:53,190
and there really was a warrior king

495
00:30:53,190 --> 00:30:54,540
who led the Britains,

496
00:30:54,540 --> 00:30:58,080
the great mystery is why
his name is so scarce

497
00:30:58,080 --> 00:30:59,613
in the documents of the time?

498
00:31:00,930 --> 00:31:03,900
This silence has puzzled Geoffrey Ash,

499
00:31:03,900 --> 00:31:07,530
one of the world's
leading Arthurian experts.

500
00:31:07,530 --> 00:31:10,650
He embarked on a major
investigation to try

501
00:31:10,650 --> 00:31:14,583
and establish once and for all
who the real Arthur might be.

502
00:31:15,630 --> 00:31:19,683
He found a rare sixth century
document, the gothic history.

503
00:31:21,750 --> 00:31:25,080
It tells the story of the
one king of the Britains

504
00:31:25,080 --> 00:31:28,113
that everyone agrees existed
in the fifth century.

505
00:31:32,010 --> 00:31:35,403
Someone with close links to
the Roman Empire at the time,

506
00:31:36,360 --> 00:31:39,483
a warlord called Riothamus.

507
00:31:44,340 --> 00:31:45,480
I decided to compare

508
00:31:45,480 --> 00:31:48,630
what the gothic history
writes about Riothamus

509
00:31:48,630 --> 00:31:51,273
with what Geoffrey of
Monmouth said about Arthur.

510
00:31:53,400 --> 00:31:55,860
Both men are said to have
been kings in the second

511
00:31:55,860 --> 00:31:57,273
half of the fifth century.

512
00:32:01,050 --> 00:32:05,883
One of Riothamus' campaigns
is dated to be around 469 AD.

513
00:32:10,680 --> 00:32:13,320
Amazingly, this is the very time when,

514
00:32:13,320 --> 00:32:15,180
according to Geoffrey of Monmouth,

515
00:32:15,180 --> 00:32:17,043
King Arthur was winning his battles.

516
00:32:19,950 --> 00:32:22,950
Indeed, the more Ash looked, the stronger

517
00:32:22,950 --> 00:32:24,870
the parallels between Arthur

518
00:32:24,870 --> 00:32:26,553
and Riothamus became.

519
00:32:27,540 --> 00:32:29,343
Cadbury Hill fort, for example,

520
00:32:30,210 --> 00:32:33,810
although there are no records
of where Riothamus lived,

521
00:32:33,810 --> 00:32:36,360
his dates precisely matched those

522
00:32:36,360 --> 00:32:38,610
for the reification of the hill fort.

523
00:32:39,590 --> 00:32:42,600
Riothamus was exactly at that time.

524
00:32:42,600 --> 00:32:46,350
He was the only documented
person who could have done it.

525
00:32:46,350 --> 00:32:49,473
So he fitted in very well with
the results of archeology.

526
00:32:52,500 --> 00:32:55,050
But the most intriguing parallel concerned

527
00:32:55,050 --> 00:32:56,883
their overseas campaigns.

528
00:32:58,680 --> 00:32:59,610
Riothamus was asked

529
00:32:59,610 --> 00:33:02,760
by the Roman emperor to
lead an army into France

530
00:33:02,760 --> 00:33:05,313
to repel the barbarian invaders there.

531
00:33:06,900 --> 00:33:10,923
Geoffrey of Monmouth also had
Arthur campaigning in France.

532
00:33:14,910 --> 00:33:16,140
History is now helping

533
00:33:16,140 --> 00:33:18,870
to fill the Arthur
shaped hole at the heart

534
00:33:18,870 --> 00:33:20,913
of fifth century Britain.

535
00:33:23,160 --> 00:33:26,170
Still, why didn't Geoffrey
of Monmouth call his king

536
00:33:27,176 --> 00:33:28,443
Riothamus and not Arthur?

537
00:33:30,030 --> 00:33:32,842
On the face of it, the
name Riothamus sounds Roman

538
00:33:32,842 --> 00:33:36,003
and appears to have nothing in
common with the name Arthur.

539
00:33:36,960 --> 00:33:39,183
But there is in fact a link.

540
00:33:40,110 --> 00:33:42,780
Riothamus isn't a name as such.

541
00:33:42,780 --> 00:33:46,890
It's a Latin word, meaning
supreme or high king.

542
00:33:46,890 --> 00:33:49,743
And that of course, is
precisely what Arthur was.

543
00:33:52,470 --> 00:33:56,163
So maybe the real Arthur
was called Riothamus.

544
00:33:59,130 --> 00:34:01,200
Perhaps we need to get rid of the grubby,

545
00:34:01,200 --> 00:34:03,810
long-haired king we're used to.

546
00:34:03,810 --> 00:34:05,250
This Arthur, well connected

547
00:34:05,250 --> 00:34:06,960
to the Roman empire would've followed

548
00:34:06,960 --> 00:34:08,883
the latest Roman fashions.

549
00:34:10,470 --> 00:34:14,250
Both his beard and hair
could have been worn short

550
00:34:14,250 --> 00:34:15,780
and he probably would've sported

551
00:34:15,780 --> 00:34:17,973
leather armor, especially toughened.

552
00:34:22,860 --> 00:34:24,990
Of course, we cannot be absolutely sure

553
00:34:24,990 --> 00:34:28,569
that Riothamus was the real King Arthur,

554
00:34:28,569 --> 00:34:31,320
but we do know that
Riothamus was a real king,

555
00:34:31,320 --> 00:34:33,483
heavily influenced by the Romans.

556
00:34:34,680 --> 00:34:37,080
Maybe the real king dressed like a Roman

557
00:34:37,080 --> 00:34:39,180
or maybe his appearance was wilder,

558
00:34:39,180 --> 00:34:41,283
more Celtic, Welsh or Irish.

559
00:34:44,880 --> 00:34:46,740
But one thing's for certain,

560
00:34:46,740 --> 00:34:50,218
the real King Arthur looked
nothing like what we imagined.

561
00:34:50,218 --> 00:34:52,968
(dramatic music)

562
00:34:58,302 --> 00:34:59,135
It's time to abandon once and for all

563
00:34:59,135 --> 00:35:02,884
the image of Arthur as a
knight in shining armor.

564
00:35:02,884 --> 00:35:07,884
-(dramatic fanfare)
-(horse neighing)

565
00:35:08,993 --> 00:35:11,743
(dramatic music)

566
00:35:18,720 --> 00:35:21,510
Sometimes the strongest
evidence for the existence

567
00:35:21,510 --> 00:35:23,370
of a historical figure is

568
00:35:23,370 --> 00:35:26,013
what the records say
about his or her death.

569
00:35:27,750 --> 00:35:30,390
We don't know how Riothamus died,

570
00:35:30,390 --> 00:35:33,780
but according to the famous
legend, Arthur died at the hand

571
00:35:33,780 --> 00:35:34,852
of his nephew.

572
00:35:34,852 --> 00:35:37,105
(dramatic music)

573
00:35:37,105 --> 00:35:39,605
(men yelling)

574
00:35:45,311 --> 00:35:47,730
Geoffrey's story says that
the ambitious Mordred plotted

575
00:35:47,730 --> 00:35:50,890
with other young knight to
bring the old king down.

576
00:35:50,890 --> 00:35:53,390
(men yelling)

577
00:35:56,070 --> 00:35:58,080
The two sides had a bloody battle,

578
00:35:58,080 --> 00:36:00,033
leaving only three knights alive.

579
00:36:09,960 --> 00:36:14,482
Among them were Mordred Arthur.

580
00:36:14,482 --> 00:36:15,960
Arthur was said to have surprised Mordred

581
00:36:15,960 --> 00:36:17,490
with his speed of hand

582
00:36:17,490 --> 00:36:18,813
and lanced him to death.

583
00:36:20,700 --> 00:36:22,320
But before he fell,

584
00:36:22,320 --> 00:36:25,773
Mordred managed to inflict on
Arthur a terrible head wound.

585
00:36:33,180 --> 00:36:35,400
Actually, it is not so
much the way he died

586
00:36:35,400 --> 00:36:38,343
through treachery that
becomes Arthur most.

587
00:36:39,480 --> 00:36:41,760
In fact, it's his afterlife,

588
00:36:41,760 --> 00:36:45,150
his magical survival in the
spirit world awaiting his

589
00:36:45,150 --> 00:36:48,483
people's cry for help that
defines him as a hero.

590
00:36:50,250 --> 00:36:52,830
Heroes always return.

591
00:36:52,830 --> 00:36:55,113
When we return, we shall see how.

592
00:36:59,640 --> 00:37:01,080
After the battle it was said

593
00:37:01,080 --> 00:37:04,620
that nine hooded maidens took
the mortally wounded Arthur

594
00:37:04,620 --> 00:37:06,873
to the Isle of Avalon where he died.

595
00:37:07,830 --> 00:37:09,290
Maybe Avalon is a product

596
00:37:09,290 --> 00:37:12,150
of Geoffrey of Monmouth's imagination.

597
00:37:12,150 --> 00:37:13,800
Maybe not.

598
00:37:13,800 --> 00:37:14,910
If we could find Avalon,

599
00:37:14,910 --> 00:37:17,710
perhaps we could find the
real King Arthur buried there.

600
00:37:22,590 --> 00:37:24,450
No one's found evidence of the burial

601
00:37:24,450 --> 00:37:27,300
of any fifth century warlord on any island

602
00:37:27,300 --> 00:37:29,250
off Britain's coast.

603
00:37:29,250 --> 00:37:31,470
Strangely, the most
likely place for the Isle

604
00:37:31,470 --> 00:37:33,633
of Avalon is not offshore at all.

605
00:37:43,917 --> 00:37:46,614
In 1998, archeologist
Richard Tabor was digging

606
00:37:46,614 --> 00:37:49,350
on the lower slopes of Cadbury Hill

607
00:37:49,350 --> 00:37:52,233
when he unearthed an ancient burial pit.

608
00:37:56,850 --> 00:38:01,320
Inside was a skeleton,
probably an ancient warrior.

609
00:38:01,320 --> 00:38:03,750
Although it was dated to the Bronze Age,

610
00:38:03,750 --> 00:38:05,870
centuries before the time of Arthur,

611
00:38:05,870 --> 00:38:07,930
it had one special feature

612
00:38:10,080 --> 00:38:12,780
When we excavated that we
found it was in the remains

613
00:38:12,780 --> 00:38:15,120
of a coffin as a black mineralized deposit

614
00:38:15,120 --> 00:38:16,800
where the wood had decayed.

615
00:38:16,800 --> 00:38:19,440
The coffin was made up of slats of wood,

616
00:38:19,440 --> 00:38:22,530
and then we noticed it
was of rather boat shape.

617
00:38:22,530 --> 00:38:24,380
It's far longer than it needed to be.

618
00:38:25,650 --> 00:38:27,780
The image of a warrior on a boat

619
00:38:27,780 --> 00:38:30,663
evokes Arthur's final journey to Avalon.

620
00:38:31,650 --> 00:38:33,873
So could Avalon be close by?

621
00:38:36,090 --> 00:38:40,023
Well, the team then began to
take photos of the burial site.

622
00:38:41,130 --> 00:38:44,598
As we went round and round
photographing it in detail,

623
00:38:44,598 --> 00:38:47,063
we eventually were looking
from the feet towards the head.

624
00:38:48,750 --> 00:38:49,980
[Richard] When they looked at the photos

625
00:38:49,980 --> 00:38:52,710
they found the boat was aligned to a tor,

626
00:38:52,710 --> 00:38:54,693
or hill, just 10 miles away.

627
00:38:57,570 --> 00:38:59,103
Glastonbury Tor.

628
00:39:02,215 --> 00:39:04,530
As in many ancient
cultures, the boat was meant

629
00:39:04,530 --> 00:39:07,503
to carry this man's soul to the afterlife.

630
00:39:10,050 --> 00:39:12,420
Is it possible that centuries later,

631
00:39:12,420 --> 00:39:15,660
Arthur's loyal followers wanted
his body to make the spirit

632
00:39:15,660 --> 00:39:17,463
to a journey to the same place?

633
00:39:19,440 --> 00:39:22,260
The problem is that this is no island.

634
00:39:22,260 --> 00:39:25,680
It's at least 15 miles from the sea.

635
00:39:25,680 --> 00:39:27,783
But this wasn't always so.

636
00:39:31,140 --> 00:39:34,298
Glastonbury is surrounded by floodplains.

637
00:39:34,298 --> 00:39:36,603
Nowadays, canals drain
away the excess waters.

638
00:39:40,410 --> 00:39:43,323
But until modern times,
floods here got much higher.

639
00:39:49,890 --> 00:39:52,260
I mean, we'd be standing
in water probably up

640
00:39:52,260 --> 00:39:54,780
to our knees and behind me,

641
00:39:54,780 --> 00:39:58,758
the tore would've been
standing up through the water

642
00:39:58,758 --> 00:40:02,086
and I think it must have
looked like an island

643
00:40:02,086 --> 00:40:05,850
and people considered
that on the islands lived

644
00:40:05,850 --> 00:40:09,420
if you like, the ancestors,
that was the next world.

645
00:40:09,420 --> 00:40:11,250
And I think it's extremely likely

646
00:40:11,250 --> 00:40:13,590
that a really ambitious warlord would want

647
00:40:13,590 --> 00:40:16,770
to get himself buried at
the top of Glastonbury tor,

648
00:40:16,770 --> 00:40:18,300
for the simple reason that he's right

649
00:40:18,300 --> 00:40:19,593
up there with the gods.

650
00:40:22,468 --> 00:40:25,530
Perhaps the Isle of Avalon

651
00:40:25,530 --> 00:40:28,673
and Glastonbury are the same place,

652
00:40:28,673 --> 00:40:30,483
and Arthur is buried there.

653
00:40:31,620 --> 00:40:33,836
If so, where?

654
00:40:33,836 --> 00:40:36,586
(dramatic music)

655
00:40:39,330 --> 00:40:43,740
Until now, excavations have
revealed no dark age burials

656
00:40:43,740 --> 00:40:45,093
on the top of the tor.

657
00:40:47,010 --> 00:40:48,300
Good Arthur supporters have

658
00:40:48,300 --> 00:40:50,409
settled for the foot of the hill instead.

659
00:40:50,409 --> 00:40:53,159
(dramatic music)

660
00:40:56,220 --> 00:40:58,890
At the base of the tor today are the ruins

661
00:40:58,890 --> 00:41:00,333
of Glastonbury Abbey.

662
00:41:02,280 --> 00:41:05,163
The Abbey flourished during
the Middle Ages around the time

663
00:41:05,163 --> 00:41:07,953
that Geoffrey of Monmouth
was writing about Arthur.

664
00:41:10,560 --> 00:41:12,960
But Geoffrey never mentions Glastonbury.

665
00:41:12,960 --> 00:41:15,330
In any case, Arthur's
legend was then becoming

666
00:41:15,330 --> 00:41:17,190
popular across Europe.

667
00:41:17,190 --> 00:41:19,650
And some years later,
after Geoffrey's death,

668
00:41:19,650 --> 00:41:21,903
the Abbey suddenly hit the headlines.

669
00:41:25,800 --> 00:41:28,653
The monks said they found
the grave of King Arthur.

670
00:41:32,850 --> 00:41:35,160
They also claimed they found a small cross

671
00:41:35,160 --> 00:41:37,987
with an inscription in Latin, which read.

672
00:41:37,987 --> 00:41:42,240
"Here lies the famous King
Arthur at his queen Guinevere

673
00:41:42,240 --> 00:41:43,887
in the aisle of Avalon".

674
00:41:48,000 --> 00:41:49,740
Continuing to dig,

675
00:41:49,740 --> 00:41:52,950
they burrowed away until they
unearthed a hollowed out log

676
00:41:52,950 --> 00:41:54,573
containing two bodies.

677
00:41:59,730 --> 00:42:02,810
They claim that next to the
skeleton of a woman was that

678
00:42:02,810 --> 00:42:05,985
of a tall man with a badly damaged skull.

679
00:42:05,985 --> 00:42:08,735
(dramatic music)

680
00:42:14,970 --> 00:42:17,820
The monks then wrote that
they took the bones out

681
00:42:17,820 --> 00:42:21,030
and re-laid them inside
the abbey just here,

682
00:42:21,030 --> 00:42:22,563
in a specially made tomb.

683
00:42:24,690 --> 00:42:26,910
Unfortunately, the tomb

684
00:42:26,910 --> 00:42:29,190
and the bones were lost when the abbey was

685
00:42:29,190 --> 00:42:31,470
destroyed by Henry VIII.

686
00:42:31,470 --> 00:42:33,333
All that remains now is this plaque.

687
00:42:34,620 --> 00:42:37,683
It marks the spot where the
bones were said to be buried.

688
00:42:38,670 --> 00:42:40,293
But can we believe all this?

689
00:42:41,370 --> 00:42:44,160
You'd expect a sudden increase
in the number of pilgrims

690
00:42:44,160 --> 00:42:46,650
after such an astonishing announcement.

691
00:42:46,650 --> 00:42:48,360
But there was no spike in the number

692
00:42:48,360 --> 00:42:51,660
of pilgrims heading for Glastonbury.

693
00:42:51,660 --> 00:42:54,690
Still, none of the other
pilgrimage sites in England

694
00:42:54,690 --> 00:42:56,460
registered a murmur of complaint

695
00:42:56,460 --> 00:42:58,770
that Glastonbury was pulling a fast one.

696
00:42:58,770 --> 00:43:01,743
So perhaps the Glastonbury
monks were telling the truth.

697
00:43:02,817 --> 00:43:05,567
(dramatic music)

698
00:43:13,650 --> 00:43:18,300
The legendary Arthur is the
ultimate romantic hero, a king

699
00:43:18,300 --> 00:43:19,833
with magic on his side.

700
00:43:21,000 --> 00:43:22,380
But the evidence suggests

701
00:43:22,380 --> 00:43:24,810
that there was indeed a real warrior king

702
00:43:24,810 --> 00:43:28,473
who successfully united the
dark age tribes of Britain.

703
00:43:29,970 --> 00:43:32,070
We can't be sure his name was Arthur.

704
00:43:32,070 --> 00:43:33,390
But even so, it's possible

705
00:43:33,390 --> 00:43:35,640
that Geoffrey was tapping
into a folk memory

706
00:43:35,640 --> 00:43:37,443
of some real king after all.

707
00:43:43,230 --> 00:43:44,730
That memory was then embellished

708
00:43:44,730 --> 00:43:46,323
by centuries of storytellers.

709
00:43:47,760 --> 00:43:49,767
Some claim that Arthur never quite died

710
00:43:49,767 --> 00:43:52,893
and that he's merely
asleep somewhere in a cave.

711
00:43:58,020 --> 00:44:01,320
The whereabouts of the cave is a mystery.

712
00:44:01,320 --> 00:44:04,716
But the story goes that if you came along

713
00:44:04,716 --> 00:44:08,400
at the right moment, a
golden gate would open

714
00:44:08,400 --> 00:44:10,578
and you could see Arthur asleep.

715
00:44:10,578 --> 00:44:13,495
(dramatic fanfare)

716
00:44:25,770 --> 00:44:28,537
Well, obviously that's just a tall story.

717
00:44:28,537 --> 00:44:32,010
(dramatic music)

718
00:44:32,010 --> 00:44:35,161
But staggeringly, it may
well be the best clue yet

719
00:44:35,161 --> 00:44:40,161
that there once was a great
warrior king called Arthur.

720
00:44:40,324 --> 00:44:41,157
There were quite a number of other stories

721
00:44:41,157 --> 00:44:46,157
in various parts of Europe
about an immortal king, emperor.

722
00:44:46,650 --> 00:44:49,350
Frederick Barbarosa in a hill in Germany,

723
00:44:49,350 --> 00:44:52,560
and various others who are
supposed to be still alive

724
00:44:52,560 --> 00:44:53,853
and asleep in a cave.

725
00:44:55,740 --> 00:44:57,585
There doesn't seem to
be any other instance

726
00:44:57,585 --> 00:44:59,910
of this cave legend being told

727
00:44:59,910 --> 00:45:02,970
of some fairytale figure
or mythical figure.

728
00:45:02,970 --> 00:45:04,950
It's always told of a real person.

729
00:45:04,950 --> 00:45:07,710
So if you find it told of
Arthur, that's in favor

730
00:45:07,710 --> 00:45:09,465
of his being a real person.

731
00:45:09,465 --> 00:45:12,215
(waves crashing)

732
00:45:15,870 --> 00:45:17,250
So what does it all amount to,

733
00:45:17,250 --> 00:45:20,013
this amalgam of history
and legend called Arthur?

734
00:45:22,750 --> 00:45:24,720
King Arthur's legend
flourished for seven centuries

735
00:45:24,720 --> 00:45:27,600
before Geoffrey of Monmouth
chronicled his life.

736
00:45:27,600 --> 00:45:31,143
And that tale has been
hugely popular for 900 years.

737
00:45:32,160 --> 00:45:35,160
We may never know the whole
truth about the obscure monarch

738
00:45:35,160 --> 00:45:38,403
called Arthur, but the
myth has outlived the man.

739
00:45:41,640 --> 00:45:46,080
But one thing we do know,
everyone needs a hero to look up

740
00:45:46,080 --> 00:45:49,695
to, and that is exactly what Arthur was.

741
00:45:49,695 --> 00:45:51,592
-(dramatic music)
-(sword blades clanging)

742
00:45:51,592 --> 00:45:54,342
(dramatic music)