thedrifter
08-28-06, 10:19 AM
Evidence found of ancient tribute to King Arthur's Round Table
By BEN CLERKIN & CHARLOTTE GILL
Last updated at 14:47pm on 28th August 2006
It is a legendary artefact of British history - albeit one for which there is no evidence.
In 1344, King Edward III supposedly built a huge round hall to house a table for his 300 knights. His aim was to recreate the Arthurian legend of the Knights of the Round Table.
The only problem was that - much like King Arthur's original Table at Camelot - many historians doubted whether it actually existed.
Until now that is.
For archaeologists digging up the Queen's front lawn at Windsor Castle yesterday unearthed a spectacular find.
Below the turf of one of the Castle's quadrangles, a dig by Channel 4's Time Team has found the remains of the 'most noble house' commissioned by Edward III for 300 Knights of the Garter.
They have found evidence of a huge 200-ft diameter round building that could well have housed a huge table for the 14th century noblemen.
Although there are no actual bricks or stones - or indeed a table - rubble remains reveal where the walls once stood.
"The Round Table building is one of our most significant ever archaeological finds, it is something that helped to establish Arthurian legends of the Knights of the Round Table," said Time Team presenter and former Blackadder actor Tony Robinson.
"Experts have speculated about the structure for centuries, but they have never been able to find the actual building."
To minimise the amount of digging required, the show's producers carried out a geophysical survey of the castle which detected an unusual circular structure under the ground.
It was situated in the Quadrangle in Upper Ward - where the Queen and Prince Philip have their apartments.
Rebecca Woodhead, assistant producer of Time Team, said: "We know from records that Edward III ordered a lot of materials, such as wood and stone, for a round table building.
"But we did not know where, if at all, he had actually built it.
"So it was amazing to finally settle hundreds of years of argument when we unearthed it.
"There may very well have been a round table in the middle of the room for the knights to sit around.
"It was enormous if it was 200 feet across and we are now doing more digging to try to find out how it was constructed."
"Edward was inspired by the stories of Arthur and this idea of knights of the round table who were united by the aim of preserving the honour of the king."
The Queen has wisely escaped to the quiet of Balmoral while archaeologists and diggers tear up the grounds of Windsor Castle over the bank holiday weekend.
They are also carrying out digs at Buckingham Palace and Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh to celebrate her 80th birthday.
In the gardens at Buckingham Palace, archaeologists have discovered a small lead toy horse which it is thought was played with and lost by one of Queen Victoria's grandsons.
"It's easy to imagine a prince, or even future King, losing the toy whilst playing on the lawn," Mr Robinson said.
"It was found whilst excavating the site of an early ornamental canal in the garden."
And they have finally solved the mystery of a mound at Holyroodhouse that Queen Victoria's children used to roll their Easter eggs down. The small hill, which has always intrigued the Queen, contains remains of the 12th century abbey which the palace was founded on. Apparently Her Majesty is as excited as the archaeologists about what they unearth.
Mr Robinson said: 'The funny thing about it is that the archetypal Time Team would be going into the back garden of someone's terrace house in Northampton.
'And the people always get really excited about what's under their garden. Well, this is exactly the same. They all seem very excited.'
Mr Robinson said: "We have been able to answer some of the questions that the Royal family had about their own back gardens.
'We have already exceeded our expectations - who knows what else we might find. As well as that, we have a whole range of finds across the three Royal sites.
'What all the finds do is bring the real lives of these three sites, across a thousand years of history, to vivid life.''
I found this interesting ;)
Ellie
By BEN CLERKIN & CHARLOTTE GILL
Last updated at 14:47pm on 28th August 2006
It is a legendary artefact of British history - albeit one for which there is no evidence.
In 1344, King Edward III supposedly built a huge round hall to house a table for his 300 knights. His aim was to recreate the Arthurian legend of the Knights of the Round Table.
The only problem was that - much like King Arthur's original Table at Camelot - many historians doubted whether it actually existed.
Until now that is.
For archaeologists digging up the Queen's front lawn at Windsor Castle yesterday unearthed a spectacular find.
Below the turf of one of the Castle's quadrangles, a dig by Channel 4's Time Team has found the remains of the 'most noble house' commissioned by Edward III for 300 Knights of the Garter.
They have found evidence of a huge 200-ft diameter round building that could well have housed a huge table for the 14th century noblemen.
Although there are no actual bricks or stones - or indeed a table - rubble remains reveal where the walls once stood.
"The Round Table building is one of our most significant ever archaeological finds, it is something that helped to establish Arthurian legends of the Knights of the Round Table," said Time Team presenter and former Blackadder actor Tony Robinson.
"Experts have speculated about the structure for centuries, but they have never been able to find the actual building."
To minimise the amount of digging required, the show's producers carried out a geophysical survey of the castle which detected an unusual circular structure under the ground.
It was situated in the Quadrangle in Upper Ward - where the Queen and Prince Philip have their apartments.
Rebecca Woodhead, assistant producer of Time Team, said: "We know from records that Edward III ordered a lot of materials, such as wood and stone, for a round table building.
"But we did not know where, if at all, he had actually built it.
"So it was amazing to finally settle hundreds of years of argument when we unearthed it.
"There may very well have been a round table in the middle of the room for the knights to sit around.
"It was enormous if it was 200 feet across and we are now doing more digging to try to find out how it was constructed."
"Edward was inspired by the stories of Arthur and this idea of knights of the round table who were united by the aim of preserving the honour of the king."
The Queen has wisely escaped to the quiet of Balmoral while archaeologists and diggers tear up the grounds of Windsor Castle over the bank holiday weekend.
They are also carrying out digs at Buckingham Palace and Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh to celebrate her 80th birthday.
In the gardens at Buckingham Palace, archaeologists have discovered a small lead toy horse which it is thought was played with and lost by one of Queen Victoria's grandsons.
"It's easy to imagine a prince, or even future King, losing the toy whilst playing on the lawn," Mr Robinson said.
"It was found whilst excavating the site of an early ornamental canal in the garden."
And they have finally solved the mystery of a mound at Holyroodhouse that Queen Victoria's children used to roll their Easter eggs down. The small hill, which has always intrigued the Queen, contains remains of the 12th century abbey which the palace was founded on. Apparently Her Majesty is as excited as the archaeologists about what they unearth.
Mr Robinson said: 'The funny thing about it is that the archetypal Time Team would be going into the back garden of someone's terrace house in Northampton.
'And the people always get really excited about what's under their garden. Well, this is exactly the same. They all seem very excited.'
Mr Robinson said: "We have been able to answer some of the questions that the Royal family had about their own back gardens.
'We have already exceeded our expectations - who knows what else we might find. As well as that, we have a whole range of finds across the three Royal sites.
'What all the finds do is bring the real lives of these three sites, across a thousand years of history, to vivid life.''
I found this interesting ;)
Ellie