This work is an examination of the transitional period spanning the end of Roman Britain and the beginning of the medieval period, in a small region centred on South Cadbury Castle, Somerset, England. It aims to set this well-known post-Roman settlement in its proper landscape and regional context through a landscape archaeological survey of the, previously poorly studied, hinterlands. Through this method the study moves towards a better understanding of the socio-economic processes effecting social and political change from the 3rd to 10th centuries AD. A multi-disciplinary approach is employed involving cartographic and documentary evidence; extensive geophysical survey and sample excavation revealed a remarkable continuity of land division in the rural landscape from the late prehistoric period to the modern day.

Cadbury Castle, Somerset, is an impressively large hillfort, originally built in the Celtic Iron Age and briefly overrun by the Roman army in the first century AD. It has the longest record of occupation of any hillfort in Britain, for its defences were repaired in two later periods. The first of these periods, the late fifth century, has traditionally been associated with the legendary King Arthur, and the second, the eleventh century, is firmly attributed to King Ethelred the Unready. The rich and complex archaeological evidence for these `Arthurian' and Ethelredan phases was revealed by excavations in 1966-70 under the direction of the author, Leslie Alcock, and is now definitively published here. In the `Arthurian' phase, the scale of the refurbished rampart and its gate tower, the building of a lordly hall and the evidence for importation of Mediterranean wine all reveal that Cadbury Castle was a major seat of power and provide testimony to the emergence of kingship in Britain out of the ruins of the Roman political system. In the eleventh century, in the face of great danger from Viking invasion, the Cadbury hilltop was refortified by King Ethelred as a town with a coin-mint. This account of the defensive walls and one of the gates, and of the plan of an unusual church, makes a major contribution to our understanding of the achievements of Ethelred's reign. Of the book's three sections, Part One and Two provide descriptive accounts of the structural remains and artefacts, while Part Three interprets the findings in their wider historical context. The volume is lavishly illustrated with maps, plans, drawings and photographs.

A substantial integrated and interpretative report of the archaeological evidence for the occupation and defense of this impressive multivallate hillfort between the late Bronze Age and the Saxon and early medieval periods. Chapters examine the construction sequence of the castle, largely based on its ceramic sequence, and finds recovered from the `massacre levels' resulting from the Roman violent conquest of the fort during the 1st century AD. Production resources and residues, largely associated with metal and stone working, agricultural features and implements as well as dress accessories and domestic items are also examined in some detail.

Arthur: mythical hero, legendary king. But was he, as the legends claimed, an actual Dark-Age Briton? From Glastonbury and Tintagel to the supposed sites of Arthur's Camelot and his famous battles, this book investigates how archaeologists have interpreted the evidence. Might new discoveries and the latest theories finally reveal the real King Arthur? For 800 years the controversy over Arthur's existence has ebbed and flowed. Rusty swords, imposing ruins, the Round Table, even Arthur's body itself were offered as proof that he had once reigned over Britain. The quest was revived by the scientific archaeologists of the 1960s. Just as Greek legends had led to the discovery of Troy, so might the romances lead to Camelot. This optimism did not last. Sceptics poured scorn on the obscure manuscripts and strong imagination on which the questers relied. For 30 years academics closed ranks against King Arthur. The discovery at Tintagel of a mysterious slate, inscribed with names from the Arthurian legends, shook this scepticism to its roots. Was it a clue at last? This book argues that it is time to reassess the possibility of a real King Arthur and acknowledge the importance his legends still hold for us today.

It has long been recognized that the landscape of Britain is one of the 'richest historical records we possess', but just how old is it? The Fields of Britannia is the first book to explore how far the countryside of Roman Britain has survived in use through to the present day, shaping the character of our modern countryside. Commencing with a discussion of the differing views of what happened to the landscape at the end of Roman Britain, the volume then brings together the results from hundreds of archaeological excavations and palaeoenvironmental investigations in order to map patterns of land-use across Roman and early medieval Britain. In compiling such extensive data, the volume is able to reconstruct regional variations in Romano-British and early medieval land-use using pollen, animal bones, and charred cereal grains to demonstrate that agricultural regimes varied considerably and were heavily influenced by underlying geology. We are shown that, in the fifth and sixth centuries, there was a shift away from intensive farming but very few areas of the landscape were abandoned completely. What is revealed is a surprising degree of continuity: the Roman Empire may have collapsed, but British farmers carried on regardless, and the result is that now, across large parts of Britain, many of these Roman field systems are still in use.