Archaeological study dismisses abbey’s links to King Arthur and Joseph of Arimathea, saying many stories were created to raise funds after a fire 
 
 
 
 
 
 A four year study by archaeologists has comprehensively demolished cherished myths about one of the most romantic religious sites in England, Glastonbury Abbey. 
 
 Those feet, immortalised in William Blake’s poem Jerusalem, never walked on the green and pleasant land of Glastonbury; the oldest church in England was not built there by Christ’s disciples; Joseph of Arimathea’s walking stick does not miraculously flower every Christmas after 2,000 years. And it turns out that the supposed link with King Arthur and his beautiful queen, Guinevere, is false too – invented by 12th-century monks faced with a financial crisis in the wake of a disastrous fire. 
 
 
 
 Furthermore the team of 31 specialists, led by Roberta Gilchrist, professor of archaeology at the University of Reading, found that generations of her predecessors working at the abbey were so bewitched by the legends that they either suppressed or misinterpreted evidence that did not fit. 
 
 
 
 However, new discoveries do suggest a previously unknown glassworks dating from as early as the seventh century, the earliest major glassworking site from Saxon England. Ceramic fragments found at the site also prove that wine was imported from the continent even earlier than that. 
 
 
 
 “Glastonbury is a remarkable site, and we would not want to take away from its fascination for so many people. What we have done is looked carefully at all the unpublished records of 20th-century excavations and any surviving evidence,” Gilchrist said. 
 
 
 
 Facebook Twitter Pinterest Fragments of medieval glass and sculpture from Glastonbury Abbey. Photograph: Glastonbury Abbey 
 
 The abbey, and other sites in the town linked to the legend of the holy grail, are major attractions for both tourists and pilgrims attracted by the Christian legends and a galaxy of new age beliefs. 
 
 
 
 One story says that Christ himself came and built a church in honour of his mother. However, the better known story is of the holy thorn, for which Gilchrist could find no evidence before the 17th century. It tells that Joseph of Arimathea came to Glastonbury from the Holy Land, planted his walking stick which flowered miraculously, and built a church. 
 
 Glastonbury Thorn chopped down as town rages over attack on famous tree Read more 
 
 The legend is so widely cherished that a posy from the thorn tree is sent every December for the Queen’s Christmas morning breakfast table, and when a thorn tree on a nearby hilltop that was said to have been grown from Joseph’s tree was vandalised, the news went round the world. 
 
 Gilchrist found no early accounts of a special tree in the abbey, and the gnarled thorn now seen in the grounds is a common hawthorn which naturally flowers in midsummer and midwinter. 
 
 
 
 A 12th-century historian, William of Malmesbury, left a description of an ancient wooden church which Gilchrist believes he clearly saw. However William was careful to say that he had only been told that it was built by Christ’s disciples. His original account only survives in much later versions, into which extra material was inserted – probably by the monks retrofitting an ancient history to boost their status. 
 
 
 
 “It may well be that what he saw was an Anglo-Saxon wooden church, which could have dated back to the seventh century or even a little earlier, which to him would have been unimaginably ancient, but he would have had no means of dating it more precisely.” 
 
 
 
 The monks’ greatest ingenuity came after a disastrous fire in 1184 which left them the problem of rebuilding with few resources and no major relics to attract pilgrims. The solution was the increasingly popular legend of King Arthur, creator of the Knights of the Round Table, the identification of Glastonbury as the legendary isle of Avalon where he was buried, and the supposed discovery of the grave of Arthur and Guinevere – together with a helpful lead cross with a Latin inscription naming the king. The cross has been lost for centuries, but Gilchrist says that images suggest it was a careful piece of fakery based on an Anglo-Saxon original. 
 
 
 
 Facebook Twitter Pinterest An image of the now lost cross. Photograph: Glastonbury Abbey 
 
 When the church was rebuilt, she says, it was in a consciously old-fashioned style, giving the impression of a much older building. 
 
 
 
 “With the other legends there is a possibility of genuine belief or misunderstanding, but with Arthur and Guinevere I’m afraid there can be no question – the monks just made them up.” 
 
 
 
 In the 1950s and 60s Ralegh Radford, who was still working on his Glastonbury findings into his 90s, excavated and announced that he had rediscovered Arthur’s gravesite, along with the most ancient British Christian cemetery, and a Saxon cloister which was the oldest in England. He was wrong on all counts, Gilchrist says, his cemetery was really medieval, his royal grave was a pit with builders’ rubble from the 11th to 15th century, and new geophysical work on the foundations he found shows that the walls do not line up and so are almost certainly not a cloister at all. 
 
 
 
 The new findings will be gently incorporated into the interpretation of the site and a new guidebook. 
 
 
 
 “We are not in the business of destroying people’s beliefs,” Gilchrist, who is now a trustee of Glastonbury, said. “A thousand years of beliefs and legends are part of the intangible history of this remarkable place.” ||||| Image copyright PA Image caption The hammer made three holes in the top layer of protective glass 
 
 A hammer-wielding man has been arrested after an attempted smash and grab of a Magna Carta from its display at Salisbury Cathedral. 
 
 Alarms went off when the would-be thief tried to break through the glass box which protects the charter on Thursday. 
 
 The suspect was held on suspicion of attempted theft of the document - claimed to be the best preserved of four original Magna Cartas. 
 
 It was not damaged and nobody was injured, police said. 
 
 The man was wrestled to the ground by staff when he attempted to flee after the attempted raid at 16:45 BST, the Dean of Salisbury said. 
 
 The Very Reverend Nick Papadopoulos said: "There were people around so the cry went up, it was pretty thick glass so it hadn't yielded easily despite having a hammer hit it. 
 
 "It was a great shock but everyone responded magnificently, both our staff and volunteers and members of the public. 
 
 "They raised a cry and he did not get away." 
 
 The drama unfolded just before Evensong near to closing time at the visitor centre. 
 
 Dean Papadopoulos added: "He had been carrying a hammer so our guys were very courageous. 
 
 "They were able to restrain him and they held him for 12 minutes." 
 
 Image copyright PA Image caption The Dean of Salisbury Cathedral described his staff as "courageous" after they restrained the man 
 
 A silent alarm was activated which alerted staff to the disturbance, he added. 
 
 A 45-year-old man is being held on suspicion of attempted theft, criminal damage and possession of an offensive weapon. 
 
 He has been taken to Melksham police station where he is being questioned. 
 
 Magna Carta is a charter of rights agreed by King John in 1215. It is considered one of Britain's most influential legal manuscripts. 
 
 Several versions were sent around the country "as evidence of the King's decision", according to Salisbury Cathedral's website. 
 
 Only four original copies survive today, and the cathedral is home to what is claimed to be "the most beautiful". 
 
 The charter was put on display at the cathedral three years ago as part of an exhibition funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund. 
 
 The charter has been removed for safe-keeping while the case is refurbished, Dean Papadopoulos said. 
 
 A facsimile copy of the charter will be displayed, and the visitor centre will re-open as soon as possible. 
 
 Image copyright PA Image caption The document is displayed at Chapter House at the cathedral 
 
 What is Magna Carta? 
 
 Magna Carta outlined basic rights with the principle that no one was above the law, including the king. 
 
 It charted the right to a fair trial, and limits on taxation without representation. 
 
 It inspired a number of other documents, including the US Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. 
 
 Only three clauses are still valid - the one guaranteeing the liberties of the English Church; the clause confirming the privileges of the city of London and other towns; and the clause that states that no free man shall be imprisoned without the lawful judgement of his equals. 
 
 The British Library has two copies of the 1215 Magna Carta. 
 
 Source: The British Library 
 
 The historical document is encased in two glass layers, Dean Papadopoulos added. 
 
 "The layer that is closest to the document itself was completely untouched by the individual concerned, but his hammer did do some damager to the initial glass screen." 
 
 Two copies of the Magna Carta that date from 1215 are held by the British Library and go on regular display there. 
 
 The Salisbury copy went on display in 2015 in the 13th Century Chapter House at the cathedral.
– A team of 31 specialists led by an archaeologist at the University of Reading are shedding light on some supposed Dark Age legends in their four-year work at Glastonbury Abbey in the UK, reports the Guardian. To wit: "Those feet, immortalized in William Blake’s poem Jerusalem, never walked on the green and pleasant land of Glastonbury; the oldest church in England was not built there by Christ’s disciples; Joseph of Arimathea’s walking stick does not miraculously flower every Christmas after 2,000 years," the paper notes. And that's not all. Even a famous link to King Arthur and his queen Guinevere is false—invented by the 12th-century monks who, after a destructive fire, needed to raise cash fast. The latter fabrication, perhaps the monks' most ingenious, came in the wake of a fire in 1184 that destroyed many buildings and artifacts that would attract visitors and money, reports Discovery. And so they claimed that King Arthur was buried in their midst. The archaeologists, however, found only a pit filled with rubble. “With the other legends there is a possibility of genuine belief or misunderstanding," says team leader Roberta Gilchrist. "But with Arthur and Guinevere I’m afraid there can be no question—the monks just made them up.” The one finding that may not crush the spirits of those who love the myths linked to one of England's most important monasteries is that the scientists unearthed glassworks they've been able to date to as early as the 600s, making it the area's earliest major glassworking site. And ceramic fragments dated even earlier suggest that wine was also imported at a very early date. (King Arthur may have been a Scot who lived in a swamp.)