Is Castle Dore King Arthur s Camelot

Split, Croatia. Today it's a tourist town. Backpackers and holidaymakers line the streets, guzzling cocktails, heading out onto the Adriatic on jet skis and banana boats. But it hasn't always been this way. The place has an entirely unique history. 1600 years ago, here stood the still visible remnants of a late Roman imperial palace. For in the early 4th century, his service complete, this was the place the storied emperor Diocletian came to retire. To live out the rest of his days. A very rare end for a Roman emperor. It was much smaller back then, a modest settlement scattered against a colossal palace structure. We still have evidence of those first few generations who lived here after that great warrior emperor passed away. Recorded on tombstones excavated over the last hundred years or so. Generally, these were people deemed important enough to be recorded for posterity. Soldiers, doctors, merchants and nobility. And just like everywhere else in the empire, it seems that many of these people travelled extensively in their lifetimes. In around 425, a woman passed away here in this most Roman of places. Her life recorded on a tombstone. But Clarissima Femina was from a land far away. Farther than most. For her homeland was a place imbued with mystery and exoticism in the Roman mind. On the very edge of the empire. She hailed from Britannia beyond the sea. Civis Domnonia to be precise. And by the time of her passing, that distant town was no longer officially part of the Roman world. Abandoned in the wake of monumental disasters on the mainland. Left to its fate. Domnonia was then a wild place, even on a wild island. Since the Roman invasion almost 400 years earlier, few roads had been built over its 170 mile extent. And even fewer settlements. It has the most coastline of any modern English county. From the ancient forest of Selwood in the north. To the storm-tossed Atlantic edge of Land's End. Upland moors and heaths give way to fertile valleys and rolling hills. Though picturesque today, there wasn't much on Bodmin Moor, Dartmoor or Exmoor to attract Roman investment. And the marshy expanse of the Somerset Levels, coupled with the rocky Mendips and Quantock Hills, formed a natural barrier for the rulers here. Generally left to their own devices. Still sometimes living in the great sea bastions of their ancestors. Guarding the rocky coasts and adjacent drowned river valleys. And yet, the winds here are westerly. The climate mild. Moist even. Suitable for herding and dairy production. A thousand years even before the Romans, people thrived here in the Bronze Age. And the lifestyle hadn't changed a great deal in the years since. Land communications down the peninsula, then as today, were relatively difficult. Much easier to navigate were the seaways. Of course, there were settlements. Many of them, though most, are lost to us today. Of course, the most visible to have survived from that time, continuing to play a part in people's lives for thousands of years to come, are the hillforts. This is Castle Dor. Standing on the precipice of collapse into a sub-Roman Dark Age. It's not part of that civilised world that Clarissa Femina inhabited. But of the Iron Age Celtic one which still clung on here. Outliving the colonial masters. Known as the Rounds to local farmers, it's not officially protected. But it's been left intact over the long generations. For all those centuries. But what link does this place have to Our Lady and Split? Well, when archaeologist Raleigh Radford excavated here in the 1930s, he concluded the place to be sub-Roman in date. Also linking it to a nearby memorial stone thought to bear the name of the warrior Tristan. From the Arthurian Tristan and Isolde story. Thought to be based on this time period. For Raleigh and many other scholars to follow, this place had Arthurian links. But is this true? Well, let's find out. My name's Pete Kelly. I'm a writer and a filmmaker. I've made it my mission to visit the great sites of our ancestors and bring you along for the ride. Don't forget to like and subscribe and let's go and see some history. But first, a quick word from our sponsor. This video is sponsored by Blinkist. An excellent tool for absorbing knowledge. Have you ever wanted to read a classic book, but simply couldn't find the time? Well, Blinkist is here to help you out. Breaking down epics into 15-minute bite-sized chunks, you can easily consume on the bus, whilst cooking, or out for a walk. It's an incredible tool for lifelong learners and a great accompaniment to my videos, should you wish to learn more. All you need to do is download the app, sign up for an account, and listen wherever you are. To coincide with Memorial Day, Blinkist are offering a seven-day free trial and 50% off a Blinkist annual subscription. In addition to the more than 5,500 non-fiction titles in Blinkist's library, there are a number of thought-provoking titles concerning those who've made the ultimate sacrifice for their country. One of my favourite books is Tribe by Sebastian Junger, and I highly recommend listening to the condensed version on Blinkist for fascinating insights into the human condition and what it means to be part of a society. The offer is available until May 29th, so sign up now for your free trial. Blinkist also has a new feature called Spaces, where you can share titles to friends and family, with or without a premium subscription. Now, back to the post-Roman twilight. When the Romans finally left Britain by the early 5th century, the great towns of the western country had already mostly fallen into ruin. Only stray dogs and brigands now called them home. Even a generation before that purported final exodus from the island in around 410, a thick layer of refuse is found in the Exeter Forum. The famous baths at Aquasoulis were already ruined, water flooding the entire area for lack of repairs. These places were still lived in, still important regional centres even, but no longer the focal points of society, particularly given the severing of their prestigious links to far-off sources of revenue. Now, in a new era of uncertainty, with a lack of an imperial army, it's thought that self-help groups looked out for the interests of the people. An almost pre-Roman tribal society re-emerging from its dormancy. Shadowy kingdoms not emerging triumphantly, but forced to fend for themselves against violent threats from across the sea. Bands of armed fighters seeking their fortunes amidst the ruins of Roman Britain. Trapped between the Romans and their Irish and Germanic conquerors, hemming in from both sides, the Britons had no choice but to fight. But what was that sub-Roman era like in Domnonia? Did people still see themselves as Roman? Had they ever? Archaeology tells us that little Romanisation at all occurred outside the major settlements of Exeter and Bath. Outside Bath during the later 3rd century, villas were built, and Romanised people certainly lived. But there is no evidence of this any further south into the peninsula. Long evicted from their hillforts, the locals continued living a conservative way of life. Building their roundhouses, going about their lives much the same way as they had before. And then, when the Romans left, the era is characterised by a re-occupation of ancient British hillforts. A parallel to the Romans retreating to fortified cities and towns when they could. The same thing happened in Germania Superior on the Rhine frontier, where the 4th century witnessed a similar re-occupation of pre-Roman hilltop strongholds. The evidence then seems to suggest a native and un-Roman response to dangerous times. And in the peninsula, the main threat wasn't from Germanic invaders, but Irish. Seen in literary and archaeological evidence. Yet, far from being backward as it had been during Roman times, now free to dictate its own affairs once more, and linked by ancient Atlantic seaways. Between the 5th and 7th centuries AD, the south-western peninsula of Britain experienced renewed contacts all over Europe and beyond. A silent renaissance with the outside world. It was from here that Reotimus went to war in the later 5th century, alongside an army of thousands, recorded in the contemporary Frankish sources. The area was very much continuing to involve itself in the post-Roman world, and the Roman world of the Floundering Empire. A situation reflected in the lives of the Celtic saints, linked up with Ireland and South Wales on the one hand, and Brittany, Gaul and the Mediterranean on the other. The east had been cut off, now the west would be the important place. And the inhabitants of Dumnonia did have one wildcard up their sleeves. Exploited from Roman times onwards, and on a smaller scale, before. It may even be what led the Romans to Britain to begin with. Tin. And at Castledore, astride a main artery of trade and transport, with good access to the sea, there were other resources on offer too. Salt, copper, iron, lead and silver. Though today it feels cut off, remote. Back then, it had all the potential to be an especially important location. When archaeologist Raleigh Radford arrived at Castledore to excavate in 1936, he found the place very similar to today. Similar to how it's looked for thousands of years. Though mostly circular, there are a few slight irregularities. On the roadside, the ramparts stand closer together. The entrance is opposite, where a slight enclosure can be seen. Perhaps a yard for animals or a marketplace. Golden gorse bushes coat the ancient walls, which might give the place its name. It has an interesting history too. In August 1644, at the height of the English Civil War, Parliamentarian roundheads dug in here for a hard-fought siege, before they were eventually evicted by Royalist forces. When Radford came here, fresh from his important excavations at nearby Tintagel Castle, which shed much light on the goings-on in sub-Roman Britain, this was a time when very little evidence of that age had been found at all. Very much still considered the Dark Ages. A very conservative scholar, not given to sensationalism, Radford was convinced the buildings at Tintagel were of an entirely religious nature. A small group of monks making a living in a scattering of hermitages on the rock. At Castle Door however, after initial excavations revealed what he saw as a scattering of post-Roman buildings, Radford, working in an age before radiocarbon dating, saw in the walls the secular bastion of an early medieval chieftain. Unsurprisingly, this, coupled with the several large linear earthworks scattered around the region, such as the Giant's Hedge, hypothesised to have been thrown up in sub-Roman times, a media sensation soon followed. Because of course, this wasn't the only evidence. Standing on a roadside near the nearby village of Fowey is an inscribed stone from the sub-Roman period. Though its weathered inscription is now mostly gone, it was recorded in the 16th century as marking the grave of Drustanus, son of Cunamaurus. A fascinating concrete remnant of that long gone by age. Names that in the King Arthur-obsessed Victorian era were associated with Tristan, son of Mark. Figures famous from several best-selling high medieval romances. One of the most famous being Tristan and His Old, written by the 12th century French writer, Berul, who gives King Mark's fortress a name, Lancian. Berul clearly had some knowledge of the Cornish territory the story is based in. This comes as no surprise, he was working from much earlier traditions. The story itself was first put to the page in the 9th century, where Cornwall is the land of Cynvar, but it likely dates from much earlier. There is also a place nearby called Kilmarth in Cornish, meaning Mark's retreat. Though Mark is a puzzle, perhaps deriving from Marcus, a Roman name. Maybe he was originally a real figure, but there simply seems to be too much said about him. His name is given to places all over the country and beyond, including the moat of Mark in faraway Scotland. Like other epic heroes, he seems to have attracted other stories into his orbit. The truth remaining ever elusive, but the story remains powerful. And what of that story itself? Can it reveal anything of that long lost age of sub-Roman Britain? Well, some scholars think it can. Like all the best stories, ours begins in a land far away, in a time long ago. When a young boy arrived at the court of King Mark of Cornwall, the powerful warrior lord took the lad in, teaching him the ways of war and politics. For his mother had been Mark's sister, married to the King of Leoness. An island lying in the sea to the west. Both parents had died, leaving the boy orphaned. But in the service of the new king, he grew into a great warrior in his own right. His name was Tristan. Tristan battled far and wide throughout Britain and even beyond the sea in Ireland. Though eventually he was wounded in war with Irish foes. Little did he know, cut by a magical weapon. The only person who could heal him was the queen of that mysterious land. So heading out in a solitary boat, across the sea he went. But it was the queen's daughter, Isolde the Fair, who nursed him back to health. And the two developed an intimate connection. Soon enough, Tristan was healed. Returning to Cornwall to his uncle's court, he made the mistake of telling the king of Isolde's beauty. Mark decided to take her for himself. Solidifying a marriage allegiance with the Irish. Indebted to his uncle, Tristan had no choice but to return to Ireland to bring the princess back to Cornwall. The queen of Ireland was all too happy to allow the marriage as it would bring her much power, making her grandmother to the king of both Ireland and Cornwall. And so the match was made. During the voyage back to Cornwall however, the two travellers became thirsty. Finding only a vial that had been carelessly left in their cart, they drank. The vial was in fact a love potion meant for Mark and Isolde. Instead, Tristan and the young princess fell even more madly in love. But given the strict customs of their day, they had no choice but to proceed with what society demanded of them. Isolde married King Mark. But the two young lovers could not be kept apart, continuing to see each other in private. When rumours got back to the king, his rage was untethered. Forgetting all the great deeds his nephew had achieved for him, Tristan was exiled from the land. A broken man, eventually Tristan settled across the sea in Brittany, where he married yet another Isolde, this one of the White Hands. But haunted by his past, he could never forget his one true love. Years later, after many more untold battles and wars, when Tristan again became wounded in combat, he could help himself no longer, calling for Isolde the Fair to come to his bedside, asking her to hoist white sails if she was coming, and black if she was not. Tristan's wife hated him for the betrayal, and days later, when a ship was sighted offshore, she told her husband the sails were black. Broken, he closed his eyes, never to open them again. Just moments later, when Isolde the Fair arrived, bursting into the chamber, she found her star-crossed lover already dead. Embracing her one true love, she herself died of grief soon after. It's a powerful story, especially popular during the later Middle Ages, and one which would eventually inspire Romeo and Juliet amongst others. But interestingly for us, there are real historical elements scattered throughout, perhaps memories of this early medieval age when links to Ireland and Brittany were common in Cornwall, much more so than in the rest of Britain in the Germanic sphere of influence, a land of a very different culture. And when the story again became famous during the Arthurian revival of the 19th century, the Tristan stone became famous with it, the idea being that Cunnamoros could be King Mark and Drustanus a version of Tristan. As archaeology continues to show, the references to Ireland in particular seem accurate. Cornwall really was frequented by Irish visitors and settlers at this time, but was Castledore Arthurian? Populated at this time even. Within a day or two's walk from Castledore are found several confirmed early medieval sites like Chunn Castle and of course Tintagel, famous too in the works of Geoffrey of Monmouth. One or two sites further along the coast also may never have been abandoned, such as Treville-ga-Head and as in Germania Superior, some hillforts like at High Peak may have been entirely new to the sub-Roman period. Most, like Chunn Castle and Castledore, were simple circular forts of a southwestern Iron Age type, where the defences required little modification over the years. Small and easily defended, they were thought to have been held by a chief and his comitatus during that heroic British age. Besides Tintagel, where a large and currently unparalleled secular settlement existed, verifiable evidence is very difficult to come by here. A mere handful of beads and two fragments of pottery which can be matched at Gwythion, where parallels have been dated to the 6th century. This is an age where almost nothing survives, yet much has changed in archaeology over the last decades, forcing reinterpretation of the already meagre evidence. Unfortunately, by the 12th century, Castledore was being reused as a quarry. This, coupled with the destruction of occupation levels over the centuries to ploughing, means that much of the evidence is now long gone. And dating especially difficult. In truth, Radford's evidence was only ever scant. A scattering of houses and a modest great hall. Though the information board at the fort still speaks of the traditional story of Arthurian connections, the latest evidence suggests only an Iron Age dating. In the 5th century BC. Today, there is simply no conclusive evidence to link the place to the early Middle Ages at all. All we can go on is the evidence, and currently, archaeologically speaking, there is none. Castledore may very well have remained abandoned all throughout the Sub-Roman and Early Medieval Age. Only future research will tell us definitively either way. Despite all the stories and speculations, the age of Arthur at Castledore remains ever elusive, just out of reach. Camelot, this was not. But don't forget to subscribe, as I will be visiting many more sites associated with the Arthurian stories, in an attempt to find their early medieval foundations. Don't forget to like and subscribe, and I'll see you next time.