All  

Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ

Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ Mobile

Arthurian

AI illustration of King Arthur King of Britain and the sword in the stone. Source: dan/Adobe Stock

The True Story Behind the Sword in the Stone (Video)

The legend of King Arthur , with his famed sword Excalibur and the magical stone, has captivated imaginations for centuries. Rooted in the chaos of 5th-century Britain, the historical existence of...
Was the marshland of Flag Fen the location of King Arthur’s Excalibur legend. Source: YouTube Screenshot / Smithsonian Channel.

This Marsh May Be Where King Arthur Found Excalibur (Video)

In the marshland of Flag Fen, situated in eastern England, a treasure trove of ancient artifacts has emerged from the murky depths. Among these finds, thousands of oak timbers, remnants of a pier or...
Glastonbury Tor. Source: vlorzor / Adobe. Inset: Representational image of a skeleton.

The Glastonbury Giant: Who Did the Mystery Bones of A Nine Foot Skeleton Belong To?

When researching the reality of giants in the past, one story which has survived the ages is the apparent discovery of the ‘Glastonbury Giant’ which was allegedly unearthed in 1190, on orders of King...
Detail from one of the fragments showing the name Merlin.  Source: University of Bristol

13th Century Magical Merlin Manuscript Shares Original Legend

After two years of hard work, scholars have now finished an Old-French-to-English translation of a centuries-old manuscript that tells of the adventures of Merlin the Magician , King Arthur, and...
Pseudo-History or Famed Fiction? Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Historia

Pseudo-History or Famed Fiction? Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Historia

Geoffrey of Monmouth has gone down in history for his classic epic, the Historia Regum Britanniae , known in English as The History of the Kings of Britain . This masterpiece of medieval literature...
Merlin the Magician representation

The Legendary Origins of Merlin the Magician

Most people today have heard of Merlin the Magician, as his name has been popularized over the centuries and his story has been dramatized in numerous novels, films, and television programs. The...
Representation of a medieval knight walking along a beach. Credit: bint87 / Adobe Stock

Medieval Knight Wielding ‘Excalibur’ Stopped By Armed Police

Three police officers from the Welsh police special firearms unit have confronted a sword-wielding “medieval knight,” by a lake in Cardiff. King Arthur was one of the most illustrious legendary...
Tintagel Castle

Tintagel Castle: Arthurian Legend Mixes with True History

Tintagel Castle is a site of castle ruins located on Tintagel Island; a peninsula connected to the North Cornwall coast in England by a narrow strip of land. This castle was an important stronghold...
Morgan Le Fay by Frederick Sandys

Morgan le Fay: How Arthurian Legend Turned a Powerful Woman from Healer to Villain

In the new movie The Kid Who Would Be King , the protagonist Alex thinks he’s just an ordinary schoolboy until he stumbles upon Excalibur, the legendary sword of King Arthur, in a building site...
Detail from one of the fragments showing the name Merlin.

Fragments of Ancient Manuscript About Merlin Have Been Discovered and Could Change Arthurian Legend

A lucky discovery in a rare book has the potential to transform our knowledge of perhaps the most famous story from the entire Middle Ages. Some damaged manuscript pages found inside the volume are...
King Arthur monument in Tintagel, Cornwall.(left), Excalibur in Brocéliande Forest, Brittany, France.(right)

Has the King Arthur Gene Been Traced?

If stories of King Arthur and his knights are based on real people their DNA markers should still be with us today. New DNA research has perhaps found the King Arthur gene. The Genetic Lead R1b-L513...
King Arthur. Detail. Charles Ernest Butler, 1903.

Archaeologist Claims that King Arthur Was Not a Real Person But a Fictional “Celtic Superhero”

A British archaeologist has controversially claimed that King Arthur was not a real historical figure. Rather, the legendary warrior king was created as a “Celtic superhero” and in reality, was...
The Lady of Shalott by John William Waterhouse

The Arthurian Tale of Elaine of Astolat, Lady of Shalott

Elaine the Fair, the Lady of Shalott, comes down through Arthurian legend with seemingly only one purpose: to love Lancelot and, in doing so, reveal his undying affection for the queen of Camelot,...
The Lost Land of Lyonesse – Legendary City on the Bottom of the Sea

The Lost Land of Lyonesse – Legendary City on the Bottom of the Sea

In Arthurian legend, Lyonesse is the home country of Tristan, from the legendary story of Tristan and Iseult. The mythical land of Lyonesse is now referred to as the “Lost Land of Lyonesse,” as it is...