Yahoo News Ancient stone at Tintagel scrawled with symbols ‘could be proof of King Arthur legend’
Could a windowsill unearthed in Tintagel Castle provide proof that the Cornish site really is associated with King Arthur and his knights?
In versions of the legend, King Arthur is conceived at Tintagel after Merlin disguises Uther Pendragon so he can impregnate the Duke of Cornwall’s wife Igraine.
A 1,300-year-old windowsill newly unearthed at the site suggests that Tintagel really might have been a thriving port, home to royalty.
The two-foot slate has a mix of Latin and Greek with Christian symbols, similar to gospel manuscript, along with Celtic names and the words, ‘viri duo’, meaning two men in Latin.
Alongside other recent finds, it suggests that Tintagel might have been an important port and royal base, experts suggest.
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King Arthur is supposed to have defended Britain against Saxon invaders in the 5th and 6th centuries.
English Heritage, says that the find ‘lends further weight to the theory that Tintagel was a royal site with a literate Christian culture.’
Win Scutt, a curator at English Heritage, said: ‘We can’t know for sure who made these marks or why, but what we can say is that seventh-century Tintagel had professional scribes who were familiar with the techniques of writing manuscripts – and that in itself is very exciting.
‘This latest find goes one step further to show that we have a literate, Christian community with strong connections from Atlantic Europe to the Mediterranean.’
