King Arthur’s round table was a Neolithic age in the village of Imont Bridge, in the English county of Cumbria , about 2 km south-east of Penrith . The object is open for free visits, is under the control of the " English Heritage ".
Description
Henge is about 90 meters in diameter, initially with two entrances, of which, as a result of the construction of the modern road, only the south-east has been preserved. The height of the outer shaft is 1.5 m, the width of the internal moat is 9 meters. The ditch bottom is flat, the depth was 1.4 meters as a result of excavations in 1937 and 1939. William Stucli recorded two standing stones outside the north entrance, although they are no longer visible.
At the northern end of the henge, the B5320 highway (formerly A592) is now located and the Crown Hotel is located.
Research
Attempts to turn this place into a garden in the XIX century led to the appearance of a raised plateau in the center. During the excavations in the 1930s, a cremation depression was found in the middle of the henge, 2.4 meters long, 0.8 m wide, and only 0.25 m deep. The cavity contained burned bones and was probably hidden under a stone superstructure, although little was left to analyze.
Nearby objects
Another henge, the so-called “Small Round Table”, stood 200 meters to the south, but was destroyed in the 19th century. Better preserved Mendberg henge 400 meters from the object.
References and notes
- Marjorie Rowling, (1976) "Folklore of the Lake District"
- Charles Thomas, “Folklore from a Northern Henge Monument”, Folklore , Vol. 64, No. 3., pp. 427-429 (Sep., 1953)
- Britain Express "King Arthur's Round Table"
- JSTOR journal