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Tintagel Castle is most famously known as the rumored birthplace of King Arthur, but the history of the site stretches back much further. While most of the ruins remaining today date back to the 13th century, evidence, including markers and bits of pottery, has been found of Roman activity during the 3rd and 4th centuries AD, and archeological digs have revealed that it was the seat of a thriving Cornish settlement from the 5th to the 7th century AD.
The site was most likely one of various strongholds of the then-rulers of Dumnonia in the region. Its location on an island, connected to the mainland only by a footbridge, would have made it highly defensible. The presence and layout of the site’s buildings suggest that Tintagel was more than just a defensive outpost—it was a bustling community with trade links and a local industry.
One of the most intriguing aspects of the history of Tintagel is the evidence of trade with the wider Mediterranean world. Pieces of Mediterranean pottery and glassware have been found at the site – the number of fragments of high-quality tableware uncovered here are by far the largest of anywhere else in Western Britain, suggesting the wealth and importance of the community. In exchange for these goods, it is presumed that tin, a key resource produced in this part of Britain during the period, was exported to ports in the Mediterranean.
Little evidence remains of the fate of Tintagel after the mid-7th century AD, until about 1138, when Geoffrey of Monmouth’s History of the Kings of Britain highlighted it as the alleged birthplace of the legendary King Arthur. While there is no definitive link between the Dark Age settlement and Arthur, the discoveries of Tintagel’s flourishing during the 5th to 7th centuries show that it could indeed have been an important locale during the time that King Arthur would have been alive. Inspired by its literary fame, the site was then purchased by Richard, Earl of Cornwall, younger brother of King Henry III, in 1233 – the castle he built was already in ruins by the 14th century, but the legend of the site continues to capture visitors’ imaginations to this day.
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