Editing Camelot (section)

== Identifications ==
[[File:The Great Hall, Winchester Castle - geograph.org.uk - 1540296.jpg|thumb|[[Winchester Castle]]'s Great Hall with a 13th-century prop [[Round Table]]]]

Arthurian scholar [[Norris J. Lacy]] commented that "Camelot, located nowhere in particular, can be anywhere."<ref name="Lacy">{{cite book|first1=Norris J.|last1=Lacy|author-link1=:Norris J. Lacy|first2=Geoffrey |last2=Ashe|editor-first=Norris J.|editor-last=Lacy|year=1991|title=The New Arthurian Encyclopedia|pages=66–67|chapter=Camelot|series=Garland Reference Library of the Humanities|volume=931|location=New York & London |publisher=Garland Publishing, Inc|isbn=0-8240-4377-4}}</ref> The romancers' versions of Camelot draw on earlier traditions of Arthur's fabulous court. The Celliwig of ''Culhwch and Olwen'' appears in the Welsh Triads as well; this early Welsh material places Wales' greatest leader outside its national boundaries. Geoffrey's description of Caerleon is probably based on his personal familiarity with the town and [[Isca Augusta|its Roman ruins]]; it is less clear that Caerleon was associated with Arthur before Geoffrey. Several French romances (''Perlesvaus'', the Didot ''Perceval'' attributed to [[Robert de Boron]], and even the early romances of Chrétien such as ''[[Erec and Enide]]'' and ''[[Yvain, the Knight of the Lion]]'') have Arthur hold court at "Carduel in Wales", a northern city based on the real Carlisle. Malory's identification of Camelot as Winchester was probably partially inspired by the latter city's history: it had been the capital of [[Wessex]] under [[Alfred the Great]], and boasted the [[Winchester Round Table]], an artefact constructed in the 13th century but widely believed to be the original by Malory's time. Caxton rejected the association, saying Camelot was in Wales and that its ruins could still be seen; this is a likely reference to the Roman ruins at [[Caerwent]].<ref name="Caxton"/>

[[File:Cadbury Castle (geograph 3884937).jpg|thumb|left|[[Cadbury Castle, Somerset|Cadbury Castle]] archaeological site]]

In 1542, [[John Leland (antiquary)|John Leland]] reported that the locals around [[Cadbury Castle, Somerset|Cadbury Castle]] (formerly known as Camalet)<ref name=rev>Phelps, W. [https://books.google.com/books?id=_vw1AQAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PA118 ''The History and Antiquities of Somersetshire; Being a General and Parochial Survey of That Interesting County, to which is Prefixed an Historical Introduction, with a Brief View of Ecclesiastical History; and an Account of the Druidical, Belgic-British, Roman, Saxon, Danish, and Norman Antiquities, Now Extant'', Vol.&nbsp;II, Ch.&nbsp;VI, §1: "Camalet or Cadbury", p.&nbsp;118] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231110013218/https://books.google.com/books?id=_vw1AQAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PA118#v=onepage&q&f=false |date=2023-11-10 }}. J.&nbsp;B. Nichols & Son (London), 1839.</ref> in [[Somerset]] considered it to be the original Camelot. This theory, which was repeated by later antiquaries, is bolstered, or may have derived from, Cadbury's proximity to the [[River Cam (Somerset)|River Cam]] and the villages of [[Queen Camel]] and [[West Camel]], and remained popular enough to help inspire a large-scale archaeological dig in the 20th century.<ref name="Cadbury"/> These excavations, led by archaeologist [[Leslie Alcock]] from 1966 to 1970, were titled "Cadbury-Camelot" and won much media attention.<ref name="Cadbury"/> The dig revealed that the site seems to have been occupied as early as the 4th millennium BC and to have been refortified and occupied by a major Brittonic ruler and his war band from {{c.|lk=no|470}}. This [[sub-Roman Britain|early medieval]] settlement continued until around 580.<ref name=nhle>{{NHLE|desc=Large multivallate hillfort and associated earthworks at South Cadbury|num=1011980|access-date=1 June 2013}}</ref> The works were by far the largest known fortification of the period, double the size of comparative ''[[caer]]s'' and with Mediterranean artefacts representing extensive trade<ref>{{cite book |last=Alcock |first=Leslie |author-link=Leslie Alcock |title="By South Cadbury is that Camelot...": Excavations at Cadbury Castle 1966–70 |year=1972 |publisher=Thames and Hudson |location=London |isbn=0-8128-1505-X |url=https://archive.org/details/wasthiscamelotex00alco }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Alcock |first=Leslie |author-link=Leslie Alcock |title=Arthur's Britain |year=1973 |publisher=Pelican |location=Harmondsworth |isbn=0-14-021396-1 |url=https://archive.org/details/arthursbritainhi00alco_0 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Tabor |first=Richard |title=Cadbury Castle: The hillfort and landscapes |year=2008 |publisher=The History Press |location=Stroud |pages=169–172|isbn=978-0-7524-4715-5}}</ref> and [[Saxons|Saxon]] ones showing possible conquest.<ref name="Cadbury"/> The use of the name Camelot and the support of [[Geoffrey Ashe]] helped ensure much publicity for the finds, but Alcock himself later grew embarrassed by the supposed Arthurian connection to the site. Following the arguments of [[David Dumville]], Alcock felt the site was too late and too uncertain to be a tenable Camelot.<ref>Alcock &&nbsp;al.</ref> Modern archaeologists follow him in rejecting the name, calling it instead Cadbury Castle hill fort. Despite this, Cadbury remains widely associated with Camelot.

The name of the Romano-British town of Camulodunum (modern [[Colchester]]) was derived from the Celtic god [[Camulus]]. However, it was located well within territory usually thought to have been conquered early in the 5th century by Saxons, so it is unlikely to have been the location of any "true" Camelot, as Arthur is traditionally dated to the late 5th and early 6th century. The town was definitely known as Colchester as early as the ''[[Anglo-Saxon Chronicle]]'' in 917. Even [[Colchester Castle|Colchester Museum]] argues strongly regarding the historical Arthur: "It would be impossible and inconceivable to link him to the Colchester area, or to Essex more generally," pointing out that the connection between the name Camulodunum and Colchester was unknown until the 18th century.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.camulos.com/arthur/official.htm |title=Official Response to linking Arthur and Colchester |access-date=2007-08-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071030005559/http://www.camulos.com/arthur/official.htm |archive-date=2007-10-30 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Arthurian scholar Peter Field has suggested that another Camulodunum, a former Roman fort, is a likely location of King Arthur's Camelot<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-north-west-wales-38330272|title=Professor reveals 'the true Camelot'|work=BBC News |date=18 December 2016|access-date=21 June 2018|archive-date=28 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180628171641/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-north-west-wales-38330272|url-status=live}}</ref> and that "[[Slack Roman Fort|Slack]], on the outskirts of [[Huddersfield]] in [[West Yorkshire]]," is where Arthur would have held court. This is because of the name, and also regarding its strategic location: it is but a few miles from the extreme south-west of Hen Ogledd (also making close to [[North Wales]]), and would have been a flagship point in staving off attacks to the Celtic kingdoms from the [[Angles (tribe)|Angles]] and others.

Other places in Britain with names related to "Camel" have also been suggested, such as [[Camelford]] in Cornwall, located down the [[River Camel]] from where Geoffrey places Camlann, the scene of Arthur's final battle. The area's connections with Camelot and Camlann are merely speculative. Further north, [[Camelon]] and its connections with [[Arthur's O'on]] have been mentioned in relation to Camelot, but Camelon may be an antiquarian neologism coined after the 15th century, with its earlier name being ''Carmore'' or ''Carmure''.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Gibb|first1=Alexander|title=The Stirling Antiquary: Reprinted from "The Stirling Sentinel," 1888–[1906]|date=1904|publisher=Cook & Wylie|location=Stirling|pages=349–365|url=https://archive.org/stream/stirlingantiqua01unkngoog#page/n361/mode/2up/search/camelon|access-date=9 December 2017}}</ref> [[Graham Phillips (writer)|Graham Phillips]] rejected the word "Camelot" entirely as just Chrétien's invention and instead proposed the old Roman city of [[Viroconium]] (near [[Shrewsbury]] in modern England) as Arthur's capital, citing archaeological evidence of a grand palace having been in use around 500 AD.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.grahamphillips.net/arthur_tomb/arthur_tomb3.html|title=The Lost Tomb of King Arthur 3|website=www.grahamphillips.net|access-date=2022-06-28|archive-date=2022-06-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220628223509/http://www.grahamphillips.net/arthur_tomb/arthur_tomb3.html|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Alistair Moffat]] identified Camelot with [[Roxburgh]] in Scotland.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dn11DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA271|title=King Arthur: The Making of the Legend|first=Nicholas J.|last=Higham|date=November 20, 2018|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=9780300240863|via=Google Books|access-date=June 28, 2022|archive-date=November 10, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231110013218/https://books.google.com/books?id=dn11DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA271#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref>