Excavations at Tintagel reveal a high status complex

The archaeological project of excavations at Tintagel in Cornwall revealed one-metre thick walls dated to 6th century AD, possibly belonging to the rulers of the ancient south-west British kingdom of Dumnonia. The fieldwork is being carried out at the site of the 13th century Tintagel Castle in Cornwall. The remains of the castle, built in the 1230s and 1240s by Richard, Earl of Cornwall, brother of Henry III, stand on the site of an early Medieval settlement. The English Heritage’s project’s aim is to find out more about the historic site from the fifth to the seventh centuries. The site is also believed to be the birthplace of the legendary King Arthur.

Excavation of the Tintagel Castle site (by The Telegraph)
Excavation of the Tintagel Castle site (by The Telegraph)

So far the walls of the palace and more than 150 fragments of imported pottery and glass fragments were discovered. Finds include sherds of imported late-Roman amphorae, fragments of fine glass, and the rim of a fine Phocaean red-slip tableware, made in 5th-6th century in the present are of West Turkey.

Phocaean red slip ware (by The Telegraph)
Phocaean red slip ware (by The Telegraph)

The team dug four trenches in two previously unexcavated terrace areas of the island settlement and discovered buildings believed to date from the fifth centuries, when Romano-British rulers fought for control of the island against the Anglo-Saxon invaders. Geophysical surveys of the terraces earlier in the year detected the walls and layers of the buried buildings, and the archaeologists have discovered two rooms around 11 metres long and 4 metres wide.

Overview of the site and excavations (by The Telegraph)
Overview of the site and excavations (by The Telegraph)

(after The Telegraph)

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