The exhumation of Arthur - Glastonbury Abbey Archaeology Skip to content Home About The Glastonbury Abbey Archaeological Archive Project Glastonbury Abbey: archaeology, legend and public engagement Meet the team Research Monograph and Database Current Archaeology Guide Book and Educational Resources Digital Reconstructions Digital The Saxon Churches (c.700 – c.1100) The Legend of the ‘Old Church’ Monastic landscape The early monastery Earliest settlement Anglo-Saxon churches The Cloister (c.1150s) Saxon monastic buildings Henry of Blois Monastic Life Dunstan and Monastic Reform Romanesque Sculpture Literacy and Learning The Abbot’s Complex (c.1150 – c.1725) The Abbots of Glastonbury Hospitality Dissolution Archaeology of the Complex Archaeology of Food and Drink Abbey after the Reformation The Lady Chapel (c.1185 – 1539) Building of the Lady Chapel Joseph of Arimathea Architecture Chapel of Joseph of Arimathea Pilgrimage Arthur’s Tomb (c.1331) King Arthur at Glastonbury Arthurian Myth Royal Connections The exhumation of Arthur Radford’s Excavation Arthur’s Tomb Methods Myths King Arthur Joseph of Arimathea The Old Church The Holy Thorn Visit Links The exhumation of Arthur 1191 exhumation stories: Gerald of Wales Reconstruction of the exhumation of Arthur in 1191 (© Rahtz and Watts, 2003) In 1191 the monks claimed to have found the grave of Arthur at Glastonbury. An eye-witness account was recorded by Gerald of Wales: “Now the body of King Arthur… was found in our own days at Glastonbury, deep down in the earth and encoffined in a hollow oak between two stone pyramids… two parts of the tomb, to wit, the head, were allotted to the bones of the man, while the remaining third… contained the bones of a woman… there was found a yellow tress of woman’s hair still retaining its colour and freshness; but when a certain monk snatched it and lifted it with greedy hand, it straightaway all of it fell into dust… the bones of Arthur…were so huge that his shank-bone when placed against the tallest man in the place, reached a good three inches above his knee…the eye-socket was a good palm in width…there were ten wounds or more, all of which were scarred over, save one larger than the rest, which had made a great hole © Copyright University of Reading Facebook YouTube Instagram Twitter University of Reading cookie policy We use cookies on reading.ac.uk to improve your experience. You can find out more about our cookie policy. By continuing to use our site you accept these terms, and are happy for us to use cookies to improve your browsing experience. Continue using this website
