King Arthur's Real Round Table Revealed

King Arthur’s Round Table wasn’t just the romantic meeting place of Arthur’s warriors but a massive building on the edge of a huge Roman city. What's more, it was a powerful symbol of Roman authority that survived for some 600 years after the Romans left Britain. (Skip to the Video)

That’s the bold conclusion made by archaeologists in a new documentary that shows how the monumental Roman structure was transformed from an amphitheatre into a fortified stronghold.

King Arthur’s Round Table Revealed explores this and other mysteries surrounding by the iconic British hero King Arthur.

The documentary is an exploration of what archaeology today is revealing about King Arthur’s world. It follows life in Dark Age Britain after the fall of Rome resulted in chaos, anarchy and inter-ethnic strife. It all led to the rise or warlords – including King Arthur, who led the resistance against the Saxon insurgency.

The refortification of Roman sites, the vital strategic importance of the road system and the use of Christianity as a rallying point against the pagan Saxons are all studied. There are some excellent reconstructions of Arthurian warfare by Comitatus and Regia Anglorum; scientific analysis of one of the skeletons from a Dark Age mass grave outside Chester; and high quality replicas showing the distinctive military fittings which characterised the armies of the British warlords.

Chester – King Arthur's Stronghold

The programme uses Dark Age texts to track down traces of Arthur on the ground, while at the same time taking in archaeological evidence relating to key sites such as Hadrian’s Wall, Silchester and, crucially, Chester. Here, finds in the huge amphitheatre confirm the identity of Chester with the ‘City of the Legion’, site of two of the first Christian martyrdoms in Britain and one of King Arthur’s famous 12 battles.

Christopher Gidlow, author of Revealing King Arthur, is one of the programme's consultants. He describes the documentary as “convincing and powerfully told”.

“You won’t have seen a programme like this,” he says. “The scholarship is cutting edge and the list of contributors is a who’s who of the most respected archaeologists working in the field. The part which sees the forensic scientist Malin Holst examine the body of a slain Saxon warrior is incredible. Tony Wilmott of English Heritage conveys a real sense of the awe he and his team felt confronted with the evidence of the Christian martyr from the Chester Amphitheatre. There is also some great CGI and the reconstructions of the Romanised British army fighting the invaders are the best I’ve seen. King Arthur’s Round Table Revealed will have you thinking ‘this has got to be right’.”

One of the programme's other contributors, Stuart Laycock – himself an expert on post-Roman rule in Britain – has described Gidlow as “the most credible proponent of a historical Arthur”.

“I take this as meaning that I keep up to date with modern scholarship and that I don’t have a blinkered attachment to proving that King Arthur shared my postcode or that some other shadowy Dark Age character is hiding behind the Arthur mask,” says Gidlow.

HD Video: Legend of King Arthur's Round Table based on Roman Amphitheatre

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King Arthur's Round Table Revealed (Trailer)

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You can read an extract from Gidlow's Revealing King Arthur on the Tintagel Stone in Cornwall – here on HK. And also trace his Top 10 Archaeological Clues to the Real King Arthur.

 (Click here for a transcription)

King Arthur’s Round Table Revealed (video trailer) will air in the UK on the HISTORY channel (Sky Channel 529 and Sky Channel 545) from Monday, July 19 to Sunday, July 25, 8pm-11pm. 

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About The Author

Lynette Eyb (follow me: e-mail or )

Last three pieces by this author:

Woman Filmed Dancing Topless on Uluru Causes Outrage in Australia | Run, Punch, Kick, Kill: Our Top 10 Books on Sport in the Ancient World | Rape, Pillage, Plunder: 10 Books on the Repatriation Debate

Lynette Eyb is the books editor of Heritage-Key.com. She trained in Australia as a journalist before moving to London, where she wrote for and edited various magazines. She has travelled extensively, exploring the ancient wonders of China, Turkey, Greece, Egypt, the UK and Ireland along the way.