King Arthur's Grave at Glastonbury
Medieval monks dug in their graveyard and announced they had found the bones of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere, with a lead cross naming him.
What was reported
In 1191, monks at Glastonbury Abbey dug between two old stone pillars in their cemetery. Deep down, they said, they found a hollowed oak coffin holding the bones of a very tall man, and a woman's bones with a lock of golden hair, which crumbled when touched. A lead cross was inscribed in Latin: 'Here lies buried the famous King Arthur in the Isle of Avalon'.
The bones were reburied in a black marble tomb before the high altar, visited by kings, until the abbey was destroyed in 1539.
Explanations offered
Most historians think it was a carefully staged discovery: the abbey had burned down in 1184 and needed money and pilgrims to rebuild, and the find also suited a king keen to show that Arthur was dead and wouldn't return to lead the Welsh. The cross was last recorded in the 1700s. Whether Arthur existed at all is still debated.
- When
- Found in 1191
- Where
- Glastonbury Abbey, Somerset, England
- Witnesses
- The monks of Glastonbury Abbey
- Status
- Disputed
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.
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