Glastonbury: Archaeology is Revealing New Truths About the Origins of British Christianity

Ancient Origins

Roberta Gilchrist/The Conversation

 New archaeological research on Glastonbury Abbey pushes back the date for the earliest settlement of the site by 200 years – and reopens debate on Glastonbury’s origin myths.

Many Christians believe that Glastonbury is the site of the earliest church in Britain, allegedly founded in the first or second century by Joseph of Arimathea. According to the Gospels, Joseph was the man who donated his own tomb for the body of Christ following the crucifixion.

By the 14th century, it was popularly believed that Glastonbury Abbey had been founded by the biblical figure of Joseph. The legend emerged that Joseph had travelled to Britain with the Grail, the vessel used to collect Christ’s blood. For 800 years, Glastonbury has been associated with the romance of King Arthur, the Holy Grail and Joseph of Arimathea. Later stories connected Glastonbury directly to the life of Christ.

Joseph of Arimathea Preaching to the Inhabitants of Britain. William Blake (via British Museum)

In the 19th century, a popular West Country folk tale claimed that Christ had visited Britain with his great uncle, Joseph of Arimathea, in pursuit of the tin trade. The myth that Jesus visited Glastonbury remains significant for many English Christians today and is immortalised in the country’s unofficial anthem, Sir Hubert Parry’s hymn, Jerusalem, based on William Blake’s 1804 poem.

And did those feet in ancient time
Walk upon England’s mountains green:
And was the holy Lamb of God,
On England’s pleasant pastures seen!

 Historical accounts describe an “ancient” church on the site in the tenth century. It was still standing in the 12th century, described by the historian William of Malmesbury as “the oldest of all those that I know of in England”. But this revered and ancient church was destroyed by a devastating fire in 1184, along with much of Glastonbury Abbey.

Reconstruction of the old church. Centre for the Study of Christianity, Culture University of York, Author provided

The old church was the first structure to be rebuilt – a new chapel was erected on the site of the old church that had been destroyed by fire. The Lady Chapel that was consecrated in 1186 commemorates the old church and still stands today at Glastonbury Abbey. Any archaeological evidence for an early church would have been destroyed by the later construction of the crypt beneath the Lady Chapel.

Archaeological Evidence
So how can archaeology shed light on the question of Glastonbury’s origins? Research led by the University of Reading has reassessed the full archive of excavations that took place at Glastonbury Abbey throughout the 20th century.

The excavation records confirm that the site of Glastonbury Abbey was occupied before the foundation of the Anglo-Saxon monastery around AD 700. Near the site of the medieval Lady Chapel, there were traces of a timber hall within the bounds of the early monastic cemetery. A roughly trodden floor contained fragments of late Roman amphorae imported from the eastern Mediterranean, dating back to about 450–550AD.

Plan of the post Roman timber structure and associated late Roman amphorae. Liz Gardner, Author provided

A radiocarbon date pinpoints the demolition of the timber building to the eighth or ninth century. This suggests that the building was in use for a long period – extending from the pre-Saxon phase of the site at around 500AD and into the period of the Saxon monastery – potentially up to 300 years.

This new archaeological evidence does not prove the presence of an early church – or support a connection with Joseph of Arimathea. But it does confirm that the Anglo-Saxon monastery was preceded by a high-status settlement dating back to the fifth or sixth century – one with elite trading connections to the eastern Mediterranean. It may also suggest that the Saxon monastery carefully “curated” the timber building – in other words, preserved it for future generations, perhaps because it held special religious or ancestral significance for the monks.

Spiritual Meanings
Today, Glastonbury appeals to a wide range of spiritual seekers, many of whom are drawn by the abbey’s associations with Celtic Christianity. Joseph of Arimathea is important in making the connection to Glastonbury’s Celtic origins – the belief that Joseph founded a church of British Christianity that predated the Roman mission to England (from 597AD).

These archaeological findings are relevant to Glastonbury’s spiritual seekers because they push the origins of the site back to a period before the Anglo-Saxon abbey – into the time of the legendary King Arthur. In a personal letter to the director of Glastonbury Abbey, Geoffrey Ashe – the Arthurian expert and doyen of Glastonbury’s alternative community – commented on the significance of these archaeological findings.

To me, the most gratifying thing is the proof – at last – that the original community was British and existed before the Saxons’ arrival, as I always maintained. The foundation has now been moved back 200 years to the period where it belongs. Brilliant!

The archaeological research provides extensive new insight into Glastonbury Abbey in Anglo-Saxon and medieval times – including digital reconstructions of the Anglo-Saxon churches and the interior of the medieval Lady Chapel. For the first time, Glastonbury’s legendary traditions can be assessed alongside its archaeological evidence.

The Anglo-Saxon Church in its modern setting 1100AD. The Centre for the Study of Christianity & Culture, University of York, Author provided

Archaeology will not prove or disprove Glastonbury’s legendary associations with King Arthur or Joseph of Arimathea. But archaeology helps to explain what these myths meant to medieval people, how the story of Glastonbury has changed over time, and why it remains important to spiritual beliefs today.

Top image: The Lady Chapel, Glastonbury Abbey. Source: Public Domain

This article was originally published under the title ‘Glastonbury: Archaeology is Revealing New Truths About the Origins of British Christianity’ by Roberta Gilchrist on The Conversation, and has been republished under a Creative Commons License.

Earliest Remains of Monks, Who May Have Known King Arthur, Unearthed in England

Ancient Origins

It is conceivable that 5th or early 6th century humans, whose remains were recently excavated at Glastonbury in England, may have known King Arthur or St. Bridget—two towering figures of early British legend. They are the oldest known remains of monks in the British Isles, says a story about the dig in The Guardian. A group doing a community training excavation turned up the remains at Beckery Chapel in Somerset—a medieval chapel that has an earlier foundation of a monastery and a nearby cemetery with 50 to 60 bodies in it, The Guardian states.

An illustration of Beckery Chapel (Somerset Routes)

The monks that were unearthed died around 500 AD, but burials continued into the early 9th century, the article states. From historical and archaeological evidence, experts have tentatively concluded that monks used the site until later in the 9th century, when Vikings attacked Somerset.

Legends say St. Bridget, an important Irish saint with roots in an earlier Celtic goddess, visited the site in 488 AD, after which it became a place of pilgrimage.

“Brigit: In Celtic mythology, goddess of knowledge, fire, the hearth, and poetry. Brigit is a culture goddess, her name being found in various forms throughout Britain as well as the Continent. When the Irish became Christian, Brigit was, according to some scholars, metamorphosed into St. Brigit,” says the Facts on File Encyclopedia of World Mythology and Legend.

“St. Bride,” a 1913 painting by John Duncan (Wikimedia Commons)

The community dig turned up two previously unknown bodies and workers took bone samples of seven others for radio carbon testing. The earliest of them, probably a monk, died between 406 and 544 AD.

Archaeologists found the cemetery in the 1960s, but radio carbon dating of ancient material was still unrefined and imprecise. Dr. Richard Brunning, director of the excavations, said the finds were exciting and surprising and added that archaeologists and historians have been waiting for 50 years to answer the question of when these people lived.

 It was in France that monasticism started around or shortly before 400 AD, The Guardian says. It spread to the British Isles bordering the Irish Sea, including western England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. These findings are the earliest evidence of monasticism in the United Kingdom, Dr. Brunning told The Guardian.

“There are various saints’ lives that suggest people might be founding monasteries, but they are vaguely dated and it is uncertain how far you can trust them, because, obviously, it is in their own interests to big up the history of whatever saint they are writing about, and they are usually written several hundred years afterwards,” Dr. Brunning told The Guardian.

Some say St. Bridget and King Arthur, a legendary British ruler who led the defense of Britain against Saxon invaders in the late 5th and early 6th centuries AD, visited Beckery Chapel, which the older monastery and cemetery are near.

This South West Heritage Trust photo shows two phases of the chapel, the outer walls having been added later.

Twenty-five local people did the dig, which lasted about two weeks and was overseen by the South West Heritage Trust. Archaeologists will write up the findings for a journal and the site will open for public visits and have interpretation panels. Nearby “Glastonbury Abbey is a big tourist attraction itself, so it just adds to that wider Glastonbury story,” Dr. Brunning said.

John Morland actually first excavated the medieval chapel in the 1880s, and Philip Rahtz continued in the 1960s, but because radio carbon dating was new the exact age of the site was unknown, The Guardian states.

Top Image: This skeleton of a person about 45 years old are the remains of a man who died between 425 and 579 AD, radio carbon dating has shown. Legend says St. Bridget, an Irish saint, visited Beckery Chapel in 488 AD and it became a place of pilgrimage. (South West Heritage Trust photo)

By Mark Miller

Researchers Claim Glastonbury Ancient Legends Made Up By Cash-Strapped Monks

Ancient Origins

The famous legends of King Arthur and his round table, among other ancient myths, were stories made up and peddled by enterprising monks at Glastonbury Abbey to make some cash, say researchers. What’s more, these legends muddied modern research into the site by “clouding the judgement” of past experts.
These are the claims being made recently by a team archaeologists from the University of Reading in UK after a four year study.

The ruins of Glastonbury Abbey in Somerset, England. (CC BY 2.0)

As reported by The Guardian the physical history of the site has been reexamined and the conclusions are:

“Those feet, immortalized in William Blake’s poem Jerusalem, never walked on the green and pleasant land of Glastonbury; the oldest church in England was not built there by Christ’s disciples; Joseph of Arimathea’s walking stick does not miraculously flower every Christmas after 2,000 years. And it turns out that the supposed link with King Arthur and his beautiful queen, Guinevere, is false too – invented by 12th-century monks faced with a financial crisis in the wake of a disastrous fire.”

Archaeologists claim the Glastonbury monks clouded the history of the site by deliberately designing renovations after a fire in 1184.  The redesign is said to have employed a purposeful archaic architectural style to generate a mythical feel, supporting popular legends and thereby raising more money from eager pilgrims.
In addition, “Arthur’s supposed grave has been revealed as a cemetery pit containing material dating from between the 11th and 15th centuries, offering no evidential links to the era of the legendary 5th and 6th century leader,” reports Culture24.

The Legendary King Arthur: "And when they came to the sword that the hand held, King Arthur took it up." (Public Domain)

Recent archaeological studies, and reassessment of older projects at the abbey between 1904 and 1979, are now casting doubt on the previous historical assumptions of the site, and the myths surrounding it.

Inside ruins of Glastonbury Abbey. (CC BY-ND 2.0)

History of the Legendary Site

Described as “one of the most romantic religious sites in England,” Glastonbury Abbey, the ruins of a monastery established in 712 AD, is the nexus of many ancient myths and historical events featuring prominent figures, such as legendary King Arthur and Queen Guinevere, the Christian Joseph of Arimathea, and England’s King Henry VIII.
Glastonbury is popularly said to be the resting place of King Arthur, and nearby locations are connected to stories of the Holy Grail. Legend has it that it was founded by the venerated saint Joseph of Arimathea in the first century, and it is believed to be the site of the earliest church in Britain. 12^th century writings connect Joseph with the Holy Grail, with him bringing it to Britain from the Holy Land in Robert de Boron's Joseph d'Arimathie.

Joseph of Arimathea by Pietro Perugino. (Public Domain)

Ruins of Glastonbury Abbey church, Somerset, England. (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Other tales say that the church was built by Jesus himself to honor his mother, Mary.
One widespread story involving the “holy thorn” has originated from the area. In that legend, on the spot where Joseph of Arimathea came to Glastonbury, he pierced the earth with his staff (in some versions made from the wood of the crucifixion cross), and a hawthorn tree sprouted there.
This, the “Glastonbury Thorn” stood on Wearyall Hill and was said to bloom twice a year (unlike other hawthorn trees which bloom only once a year). It was said to bloom every Christmas day for 2,000 years (until vandals cut it down in 2010, causing much grief and outrage, local and international). Hawthorn trees have been propagated by grafting in and around Glastonbury many times in order to preserve it.

A Glastonbury Thorn at Glatonbury Abbey, 1984. This tree died in 1991 and was removed in 1992. (CC BY-SA 3.0)

The site suffered a devastating fire in 1184. It was rebuilt, and had become one of the richest and most influential monasteries in England by the 14^th century.
This power did not go unchallenged long. The Dissolution of the Monasteries under King Henry VIII dismantled the church, taking their money and land. Richard Whiting, the last abbot of the Glastonbury Abbey was viciously killed by hanging, then drawn and quartered as a traitor to the crown at Glastonbury Tor in 1539.

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Researchers Allegedly Bewitched

Citing a lack of physical evidence to prove the historical legends, the team of 31 specialists led by Roberta Gilchrist, professor of archaeology at the University of Reading and now a trustee of Glastonbury, “found that generations of her predecessors working at the abbey were so bewitched by the legends that they either suppressed or misinterpreted evidence that did not fit,” reports The Guardian.

Site of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere's purported original tomb beneath the high altar. Archaeologists now say it was filled with material dating from between the 11th and 15th centuries. (CC BY-SA 3.0)

The archaeologists uncovered several surprising finds, including: a previously unknown prehistoric settlement of Romans and Saxons, predating the earliest monastery; A glass-working complex which has been radiocarbon dated to approximately 700 AD, making it the earliest evidence for glass-working in Saxon England; and it was found wine was imported from the continent to the site at an even earlier date, as shown by ceramic fragments.

Archaeological finds from Glastonbury Abbey. Credit: University of Reading

Perhaps more to legend than ‘made up’ stories

However, there are those that believe that ancient legends might have been retellings of actual historical figures and events. Author and researcher Ralph Ellis writes,

“Arthurian history is traditionally set in the fifth or sixth centuries, the era of the Dark Ages. This is a period in British history that is not simply ‘dark’ because of an economic and social collapse following the decline and fall of the Western Roman Empire, it is also ‘dark’ because it lacks any historical records. This makes it difficult to decipher what was happening in this era, and it is this lacuna in British history that has enabled the life of King Arthur to remain enigmatic and semi-legendary for so long. Had Arthur been a king of the fourth or ninth centuries, we could easily have determined if these legends were fact or fiction, but Arthur has managed to slip into a historical crevasse where there are many known unknowns and several unknown unknowns.”    

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This raises the idea that the chronicles of King Arthur and other legends during the Dark Ages may not be untrue simply because they cannot be proven through pottery sherds or skeletal remains. It may be possible that the ancient scribes poorly documented a real king or man, or an ancient history, either purposefully or accidentally, and these stories endured. Could modern interpretations of legends now be clouding the ancient past?

King Arthur's knights, gathered at the Round Table, see a vision of the Holy Grail. (Public Domain)

The ancient myths that have resonated through time will not be so easily vanquished, if the continuing popularity of Glastonbury Abbey is any judge. And while researchers might point to the empty burial site of the mythical King Arthur as an absence of evidence, more important perhaps are the insights that come from the social history of the period gleaned from these legends.
The findings of the researchers are reportedly going to be added “gently” to the new Glastonbury guidebook so as to remain sensitive to legend.
According to the University of Reading, the main thrust now at the site is to inform future interpretation and development of the Abbey: “Glastonbury Abbey: archaeology, legend and public engagement aims to improve visitors' understanding of spatial layout, chronological development and archaeological evidence, while also exploring the Arthur and Arimathea legendary connections.”
Gilchrist explained, “We are not in the business of destroying people’s beliefs. A thousand years of beliefs and legends are part of the intangible history of this remarkable place.”
Featured Image: Glastonbury Abbey. (Flickr/CC BY 2.0)
By: Liz Leafloor