The Lost Arthurian Kingdom of Rheged Discovered in Scotland

[Edge Guerrero]

Posted By: Ginger Perales Posted date: January 26, 2017

The long lost kingdom of Rheged, which dates back to the Dark Ages, may have been unearthed during excavation work at the archeological site of Trusty’s Hill in Scotland. The site is known for the Pictish Symbols that were carved into a rock outcrop at the entrance to the fort. Archaeologists say it may have been a stronghold of King Urien, who ruled the kingdom of Rheged during the sixth century and appears in Arthurian legends.

In some of the Arthurian legends, King Urien marries Morgan le Fay, King Arthur’s sister who, according to one story, plots to steal the sword Excalibur, kill Arthur and Urien, and then take the throne for herself and her lover Accolon. Despite the kingdom’s historical importance, its location has remained unknown.

“Trusty’s Hill was likely the royal seat of Rheged, a kingdom that had Galloway as its heartland,” Dr. Bowles, an archeologist with the Scottish Borders Council is quoted as saying in the Independent. “This was a place of religious, cultural and political innovation whose contribution to culture in Scotland has perhaps not been given due recognition. Yet the influence of Rheged, with Trusty’s Hill at its secular heart … and Urien its most famous king, has nevertheless rippled through the history and literature of Scotland and beyond.”

An excavation of the site, which started in 2012, revealed that Trusty’s Hill was a type of fort with a design similar to other high status settlements during the late Iron Age and Early Medieval Periods. Archeological work has revealed timber and stone fortifications, and an entranceway marked with two Pictish symbols on one side, believed to have led to the complex where royal inauguration rituals were conducted. The Picts were a confederation of tribal people who resided in what is eastern and northern Scotland today.

Given their findings, archaeologists have been able to build a vibrant picture of everyday life at the stronghold, including what remained of a workshop that produced high quality metalwork of silver, gold, iron and bronze. Other apparent activities at Trusty’s Hill included leatherworking, the spinning of wool, and feasting on a diet consisting mainly of cattle, barley and oats.

Dr. Christopher Bowles, co-director of the excavation, added: “This household is likely to have been connected with an international trade network that linked important sites around the Irish Sea with Continental Europe. “The power of this royal household was maintained by bonding the people of this land and the districts beyond by gifts, promises of protection and the bounties of raiding and warfare.”

Recent analysis of the symbols has confirmed them to be early medieval carvings. “The literal meaning of the symbols at Trusty’s Hill will probably never be known. There is no Pictish Rosetta Stone. But these symbols and the material culture we recovered provide significant evidence for the initial cross cultural exchanges that forged the notion of kingship in early medieval Scotland,” the article goes on to say.

Source http://www.newhistorian.com/lost-arthurian-kingdom-rheged-discovered-scotland/7925/

[Megaterio Llamas]

Interesting find Edge. Nice work. You know, the majority of the old Welsh legends took place in Hen Ogledd; the Old North. Strathclyde, Cumbria etc.

This is my own heritage we speak of here.

[Megaterio Llamas]

This sheep counting method from the Lake District is thought to be a Cumbric culture survival from the Welsh Old North.

[Luigi]

Cool stuff Edge, and you too FF! My knowledge of Arthurian times is unfortunately fairly lacking.

[Masato]

Cool stuff, thanks Edge

It really boggles my mind when I try to comprehend that these times actually HAPPENED... that people were actually alive and experiencing such a time and world. Real stories, real romances, families, etc etc REAL PEOPLE. Great people, amazing artists and craftsmen, truly special lives that have been erased. Makes me think of the other thread in the Sanctuary forum, maybe footprints really do wash away with the tide

How much of the Arthurian legend do you think might be actually factual? Or it is all a myth/allegory?
I also don't know much about it; was Arthur a figure of literature, or of actual history?

[Edge Guerrero]

Cool stuff, thanks Edge

It really boggles my mind when I try to comprehend that these times actually HAPPENED... that people were actually alive and experiencing such a time and world. Real stories, real romances, families, etc etc REAL PEOPLE. Great people, amazing artists and craftsmen, truly special lives that have been erased. Makes me think of the other thread in the Sanctuary forum, maybe footprints really do wash away with the tide

How much of the Arthurian legend do you think might be actually factual? Or it is all a myth/allegory?
I also don't know much about it; was Arthur a figure of literature, or of actual history?

- I get this too. We have a more free grasp of our world today, since information is so easy to obtain.

I think King Arthur was based on a real person, but the legends got exaggerated. Maybe the guy wasn`t even a KIng, just a soldier, but people started to tell his stories and the fable got big.

ARCHAEOLOGISTS believe that they may have found the mythical birthplace of the iconic King Arthur.

By SEAN MARTIN
PUBLISHED: 16:39, Fri, Aug 5, 2016

The story of King Arthur is largely made up of folklore and legend but archaeologists and historians have been working hard to paint a more accurate picture of the man who led Britain’s defence of the invasion of the Saxons.

A book written 900-years ago claimed that the King was born in Tintagel in Cornwall but this was met with scepticism by historians.

However, archaeologists have discovered the ancient remains of a palace next to the site.

Additionally, they found more than 150 fragments of ancient pottery and glass.



The fragments came from places as far as Turkey, which is a strong indication that the people who resided there were extremely wealthy people – potentially even royalty.

Graham Phillips, author of ‘The Lost Tomb of King Arthur,’ told the Daily Telegraph: “It is showing there could indeed be some truth behind the earliest stories about King Arthur’s birth at Tintagel.

“If nothing else, it means the legend about where Arthur was born isn’t so fanciful after all and deserves further investigation.



“It is going to start a whole new line of investigation by historians.”

The site was discovered next to a medieval fortification that was built 700 years later than the original palace.

However, despite the most recent discovery, there is still no clear evidence that King Arthur even existed, with some historians claiming that he was simply a literary creation.

Nonetheless, the discovery is an important part of English history.

Win Scutt, English Heritage’s properties curator for the west of the country, told the Independent: “The discovery of high-status buildings — potentially a royal palace complex — at Tintagel is transforming our understanding of the site.

“It is helping to reveal an intriguing picture of what life was like in a place of such importance in the historically little-known centuries following the collapse of Roman administration in Britain.”

http://www.express.co.uk/news/science/697086/Has-the-birthplace-of-the-legendary-King-Arthur-been-found

[Megaterio Llamas]

[Megaterio Llamas]

[Megaterio Llamas]

Kernewek lass speaking the lingo of the round table:

[Megaterio Llamas]