A brooch was found near a site that has been linked to the legendary King Arthur. experts say it could be up to 2,000-years-old, dating back to the period when the Romans ruled Britain.
There are some reports that say it might have belonged to Arthur’s wife Guinevere, although archaeologists say that this is unlikely.
It is thought that a noblewoman was walking through the area and simply dropped the precious brooch.
Archaeologists simply happened upon the piece of jewelry while they were digging around, and they believe this is the first real proof that that rich and powerful of the time actually lived in the area.
The field where the brooch was found is called Chapelfield; it is where developers are seeking to get permission to build 14 houses. It is in St Mabyn, Cornwall, less than a mile from a hill fort which is believed to have been the site of Arthur’s Camelot.
A public report by Cornwall Council states that the brooch “is a rare and significant find, suggestive of a reasonably “well-healed” Romano-British farmstead settlement.”
But others believe it is not rare at all.
“It is a penannular brooch dating from the Romano-British period,” Andrew Young, from the Cornwall Archaeology Unit told Mail Online.
He states that with the way it was buried, it will not be well-preserved.
“Such brooches are by no means unusual, although in Cornwall the acid soils mean that survival of metal objects such as this is rather patchy.”
Pictures were taken of the brooch while it was still in the soil, then it was taken to the Cornwall Museum for conservation.
“Once it has been cleaned and conserved it will be photographed again,” Mr. Young said.
Most of what we know about King Arthur is myth and folklore, but experts believe the man actually existed and that he ruled Britain from the late 5th and early 6th centuries. Mr. Young also said that there is almost no evidence to support the claim that King Arthur’s wife Guinevere ever owned this piece of jewelry.
“I should also point out that it is earlier than the legendary King Arthur by several hundred years,” Mr. Young said.