Looking for King Arthur's Camelot - Winchester

Today we will look at the one more potential location for King Arthur's Camelot - Winchester.

Despite William Caxton's assertion that Camelot was to be found in Wales, Sir Thomas Mallory, writing in Le Morte d'Arthur (1485), identified Winchester as King Arthur's Camelot:

...and so by adventure it swam down the stream to the City of Camelot, that is in English Winchester.

Winchester Castle

Winchester Castle

Winchester Castle, built in 1067 and within a year of the Norman Conquest, served for over a century as the seat of government and was, at the time, considered one of the greatest strongholds in England.  It was rebuilt and extended first by Henry III, who added the Great Hall, and then by Edward II who, with his wife, Margaret of France, narrowly escaped death when the castle's royal apartments were destroyed in a fire.  During the English Civil War the castle was held by royalist forces and finally fell in 1646 when Oliver Cromwell ordered its destruction.  As a consequence, very little remains from the early period.

Charles II later commissioned Sir Christopher Wren to build King's House, with a view of this new royal palace being elaborate enough to rival France's palace of Versailles.  However, James II abandoned the plans and only Henry III's Great Hall survived, giving us a small glimpse into how the original castle may have looked.

Inside the Great Hall

With a date too late for King Arthur, it is possible that Malory knew only that Winchester had been the captial of England and used it as his base for Camelot for this reason.  However, it is more likely that Malory was influenced by the presence of King Arthur's Round Table, which can still be seen in the Great Hall of Winchester Castle.  William Caxton used this table as proof of King Arthur's existence.

The Great Hall - Winchester Castle 

King Arthur's Round Table

The Round Table itself bears the names of various knights from Arthur's Court and was probably created for a Round Table tournament, a festival of the Middle Ages.  Made of oak, the table measures 18ft across and weighs 1.25 tonnes.  The paintwork is late, having been reworked  by order of King Henry VIII for the 1520 state visit of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, and depicts King Henry VIII sitting in King Arthur's seat above a Tudor rose.

 Winchester Round Table

Despite its Arthurian connections, the Winchester Round Table dates from no earlier than the 13th century, when it may have been constructed at the command of King Edward II.  It is believed King Edward II was considering a revival of the Round Table as an Order of Chivalry.  However, he changed his mind and decided on the Order of the Garter.

 Winchester Round Table - detail

There seems to be little, if anything, else to connect Winchester with King Arthur's Camelot.  Winchester Castle itself was built in the 11th century, far too late for King Arthur.  And the Round Table which hangs in the great hall is again far too late, having been made in the 13th century or later.  Many believed that Malory, taking inspiration from the Round Table which hangs there, simply based his Camelot in Winchester as it was a known captial of England.

Winchester Castle Ruins

While there are many locations purported to be King Arthur's Camelot, many believe that the name itself is nothing more than an invention of Chretien de Troyes imagination.  After all, the name Camelot was unheard of until the late 1100s.  You would expect the name to appear in the oldest literature to tell of Arthur and his Court, yet it doesn't and, for this reason, most claim that Camelot is nothing more than a myth.

However, it is possible that the name Camelot was derived from another place name.  It is also interesting to note that Norma Goodrich, described as the foremost living authority on King Arthur, has been quoted saying that it was customary for a king to refer to the castle at which he was staying as 'Camelot'.  If this assertion is correct, it may be that there is not just one Camelot, but many.

Useful Resources

Le Morte d'Arthur by Sir Thomas Mallory
Revealing King Arthur: Swords, Stones and Digging for Camelot by Christopher Gidlow
King Arthur: The Truth Behind the Legend Paperback by Rodney Castleden
The Oxford Guide to Arthurian Literature and Legend by Alan Lupack

How King Arthur Worked
Britain Express - Winchester Castle

Looking For King Arthur's Camelot - Caerleon: The City of Legions

 Reconstruction of Caerleon in the Roman period,

Caerleon: The City of Legions

Although Chretien de Troyes mentioned Caerleon and Camelot separately, Geoffrey of Monmouth tells of how Arthur held his Court at The City of Legions, and there is little doubt that this was Caerleon in Wales, although Geoffrey does not give it the name Camelot.


'...he [Arthur] pitched upon the City of Legions [Caerleon] as a proper place for his purpose. For besides its great wealth above the other cities, its situation, which was in Glamorganshire upon the river Uske, near the Severn sea, was most pleasant, and fit for so great a solemnity. For on one side it was washed by that noble river, so that the kings and princes from the countries beyond the seas might have the convenience of sailing up to it. On the other side, the beauty of the meadows and groves, and magnificence of the royal palaces with lofty gilded roofs that adorned it, made it even rival the grandeur of Rome. It was also famous for two churches; whereof one was build in honour of the martyr Julius, and adorned with a choir of virgins, who had devoted themselves wholly to the service of God; but the other, which was founded in memory of St. Aaron, his companion, and maintained a convent of canons, was the third metropolitan church of Britain. Besides, there was a college of two hundred philosophers, who, being learned in astronomy and the other arts, were diligent in observing the courses of the stars, and gave Arthur true predictions of the events that would happen at that time. In this place, therefore, which afforded such delights, were preparations made for the ensuing festival.'

 A close up of what the fortress wall might’ve been like.

With it's splendid Roman remains, Caerleon would have been an impressive place for Arthur to hold Court for important rulers.  We can also be fairly sure that only a professional army could have defended the Roman fortress ruins.  However, some believe Caerleon may have just been a meeting place for Arthur and so we should look at the surrounding hilltops for possible locations of his 'castle'.  Interestingly, such a site exists less than a mile north of the village - a fortification known as Belinstocke.

Caerleon is another site that is said to have a hidden cave where King Arthur and his knights slumber.  Here they are said to wait to be called on to save their country in its hour of need.  One local tale tells of a farmer who met a mounted man wearing a 3-cornered hat, who promised to show him something amazing.  He took the farmer to the middle of a woods, stopping in front of a sheer rock face.  He pushed a large boulder away to reveal a hidden cave.  The man led the farmer inside, passing two bells and descending into a huge underground cavern.  Here the farmer observed over a thousand knights, with King Arthur at their head.  All slept.  On leaving, the farmer knocked one of the two great bells, waking the sleeping men who immediately asked, 'Is is time?'  The man told them it was not yet time and that they should continue to sleep.  The knights returned to their slumber.  The man and the farmer left the cave, where they parted ways without a word.  The farmer is said to have searched for the cave many times but could never find it again.

Caerleon-Roman Prysg Field Barracks

In the preface of Le Mort d'Arthur by Sir Thomas Mallory, William Caxton tells us that Camelot is located in Wales, describing ruins of a city that sound much like Caerleon.

'...in Wales, in the town of Camelot, the great stones and the marvellous works of iron lying underground, and the royal vaults which many now living have seen.

This part of Wales, believed to be Gwent, became a Dark Age kingdom which was ruled by Atrwys ap Meurig, who is believed by some to be 'the real King Arthur'.

 Aerial view of Caerleon Roman amphitheatre

Caerleon is especially noted for Arthur's Table, the Roman amphitheatre, which is where King Arthur is said to have been appointed St. Dyfric as an Archbishop of St. Aaron's Cathedral in Caerleon.  When the Caerleon Excavation Committee formed in 1926, Sir Mortimer Wheeler, the Director of the National Museum in Wales, made the most of the connection between King Arthur's Round Table and the Roman amphitheatre, commenting that it was 'likely to attract considerable funds required for a long-term programme of work.'  Wheeler announced his project to the media, with the Daily Mail soon offering to give the Committee £1,000 for exclusive rights and daily reports of the excavation of''King Arthur's Round Table'.  By the time the agreement was made, the Daily Mail had tripled their offer and carried daily 'sensational' reports, despite Wheeler being accused of shameless exploitaton and no Dark Age remains were reported.

But Wheeler's connection between King Arthur's Round Table and the Roman amphitheatre was not the first.  In 1587, Thomas Churchyard wrote of the Roman amphitheatre at Caerleon:

In Arthur's tyme, a table round,
Was where at he sate:
As yet a plot of goodly ground,
Sets forth that rare estate...

 Caerleon Roman amphitheatre

And this is not the earliest connection between the two.  According to a French source, Chronique Religieus de St Denys, in 1405 the French army, who had landed at Milford Haven to support Owain Glyn Dwr in his uprising against the English Crown, went to Caerleon, once known as the legionary fortress Isca.  They are then said to have visited 'The Round Table of Arthurian legend', which was in fact the Roman amphitheatre.  Those that believe Caerleon is a contender for Arthur's Camelot claim that the addition of Arthur's Table strengthens the theory.

King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, painting by Michel Gantelet from 1472. 

That's it for today.  Tomorrow we will look at one more potential contender for King Arthur's Camelot.  Until next time.


Useful Resources

Le Morte D'Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory
Historia Refum Britanniae [History of the Kings of Britain] by Geoffrey of Monmouth
King Arthur: The Truth Behind the Legend by Rodney Castleden
Revealing King Arthur: Swords, Stones and Digging for Camelot by Christopher Gidlow
Caerleon and Arthur

Looking For King Arthur's Camelot - Cadbury Castle

Camelot is a place surrounded by myths and legends which have created the enduring impression of a wonderful, mythical castle and land; where knights in shining armour lived to a noble Code of Chivalry.  These legends are so deeply ingrained into our minds that many have gone in search of evidence that this place did in fact exist.  Although we have an image of this fantastical castle in our minds, some have said that we should not be looking for a castle at all, and that we should be looking for a wooden lodge.  Over the next few posts we will look at three different locations which have been proposed as the possible location of Camelot and King Arthur's Court.

 Camelot by theartofdarrenvannoy

Cadbury Castle

In order to find Camelot, we need to look at the legends of Camelot in more detail.  The oldest literature concerning Camelot can be found in Chretien de Troyes romance Lancelot, written between 1170 and 1185.

Upon a certain Ascension Day King Arthur had come from Caerleon, and had held a very magnificent court at Camelot as was fitting on such a day.

 A reconstruction of South Cadbury Castle, a British hill fort that was re-fortified around A.D. 500. This project became the Trimaris royal encampment at Pennsic XIX, and was designed and constructed by Baron Master Geoffrey of Trimaris and the author.

One of the most popular locations for a possible Camelot is Cadbury Castle, located by the River Cam.  This site shows signs of refortifications at around the right time for King Arthur.  There are also many postholes which could possible indicate a large feasting hall.  The hill at South Cadbury had long been associated with Arthurian folklore. There is a belief that Arthur and his knights are eternally sleeping in a cave beneath the hill and, on Christmas Eve, they are believed to ride along the top of the hill.  One 14th century author, John Leland, claimed that the name Camelot came from local tradition.  While visiting Somerset, Leland maintained that Camelot was the name of a hill by the village of South Cadbury.  He first recorded the link between King Arthur, Camelot, and Cadbury in 1542:

Right at the South end of South Cadbury Church stands Camelot.  This was once a noted town or castle, set on a real peak of a hill, and with marvellously strong natural defenses...  Roman coins of gold, silver, and copper have been turned up in large quantities during ploughing there, and also in fields at the foot of the hill, especially on the East side.  Many other antiquities have also been found, including at Camelot, within memory, a silver horseshoe.  The only information local people can offer is that they have heard that Arthur frequently came to Camelot.

Excavations at Cadbury Castle

When archaeological research first began in the area, an old man from the village anxiously asked if they had come to remove the King.

In the 1950s, Dr Raleigh Radford, a recognized expert on Dark Age Britain, examined samples of pottery and coins found on the hill and concluded that they belonged to Arthur's period.  Apparently, this evidence was enough for the formation of the Camelot Research Committee, including members such as the British historians and archaeologists C.A. Raleigh Radford, Geoffrey Ashe and Phillip Rahtz, under the direction of Leslie Alcock.  The very name of the Committee suggested that the excavations at Cadbury were specifically searching for proof of King Arthur and his Court.  Any finds from Arthur's period were then taken as proof of exactly that, and the media were quick to jump on the King Arthur bandwagon, not to mention the local tourist industry which will now not hear of any other site being suggested as Camelot.

 Illustration of What Cadbury May Have Looked Like In Its Heyday

From July 15th to August 6th, 1966, there was a trial excavation at the site to see if there was enough physical evidence to justify a full scale excavation.  Three sites were identified and excavated along the 18 acre hilltop.

Sit Mortimer Wheeler, an archaeologist, commented, 'King Henry VIII's appointed antiquary, John Leland, found that this place was known to local folk as Camelot.  Sober-minded historians have hesitated to scorn the ancient belief that, about 500AD, there was a veritable Arthur, whether king or soldier of fortune.  Now archaeology has given fresh substance to this Arthurian Camelot.

Engraving of Cadbury Castle, drawn in 1723 by William Stukeley and captioned "Prospect of Camalet Castle" 

Discoveries covering a large timespan from the Neolithic (300BC) period, to an occupation in the 1st millenium included mass amounts of bronzes and Bronze Age pottery.  The pre-Roman Iron Age provided loom weights, weaving combs and La Tane III brooches.  Further evidence was discovered from the Roman period, marked by 3rd and 4th century pottery./  The next level provided mass amounts of Tintagel Class B pottery, which indicates a major occupation during the Dark Ages.

Alcock commented: 'We have achieved the main objectives of our first years work.  We are now able to show that this fortification belongs to the 6th century, that is to say the period of Arthur himself.  We've made enough finds - particularly of pottery and metal objects - to tie down this date quite quickly.'

Cadbury Castle Today

This trial excavation provided enough evidence to warrant a full scale excavation of the site, which occurred throughout the summer of 1970.  The new evidence discovered during this time further supported the theory of a Dark Age military stronghold.  At this point, the Committee made use of geophysical prospecting, giving them a way to select the most beneficial areas to excavate.  An area of 1000sq metres was selected.  One trench revealed more than five structural phases, at least two of which were post-Roman.  They also discovered that, during the fort's re-occupation in the decond half of the 5th century, earlier defences were reconstructed and fortified.  This refortification consisted of a 16ft thick unmortared stone wall, with blocks of Roman masonry on top of it.  This is in addition to the surrounding earthbank, an internal drystone wall and a gate tower with two entrances.  Additional postholes indicated more buildings and a small 'amount of Tintagel-like sherds of Class A, B, and D pottery were also discovered.'  These finds of imported pottery suggested a peasant's hovel, where the widely scattered pottery indicated a 'civilized settlement.'  Due to the quantity of imported luxury goods, it was also suggested that the occupants of the fortified settlement were people of standing.

Only an important chieftain would have been able to afford to import the luxury goods found and to build on the scale discovered at Cadbury.  The size of Cadbury Castle itself has led to the suggestion that a High-King such as Arthur would be the most likely to have resided here.  However, Cadbury lay in the Kingdom of Dumnonia and there seems little reason to doubt that it was the capital of Dumnonian Kings due to its incomparable size and the discoveries of luxury goods on the site.  Strengthening this theory is the possible interpretation of the name.  It is usually translated as Battle-Fort, but Cadbury may really mean Cado's Fort.  Cado was the name of an early 6th century King of Dumnonia.  It has been suggested that the Arthurian connection with Cadbury stems from confusion with the now forgotten pre-Roman king Arvirogus.

 Survey plan of Cadbury Castle

That's it for today.  Tomorrow we will look at the claim that Caerleon is King Arthur's Camelot.  Until next time.

Useful Resources

The Oxford Guide to Arthurian Literature and Legend by Alan Lupack
King Arthur: The Truth Behind the Legend by Rodney Castleden
Revealing King Arthur: Swords, Stones and Digging for Camelot by Christopher Gidlow

Four Arthurian Romances by Chretien de Troyes
Britannia - Cadbury Castle: King Arthur's Camelot
The South Cadbury Excavations
The UnMuseum - Camelot
‘Have You Come to Take the King Away?’: A Survey of Archaeology and Folklore in Context

Lost Places of Legend

There are a wealth of tales about fabulous places - cities built entirely of gold, gardens which can only compare with paradise, castles of mythical kings, islands inhabited by advanced civilisations, and whole continents - which have disappeared from living memory.  Yet these places live on in, immortalised in mythology and legend, some of which we'll explore here.     

El Dorado - A City Paved With Gold

Above the Earth by Cameron Davidson

Eldorado by Edgar Allan Poe

Gaily bedight,
A gallant knight,
In sunshine and in shadow,
Had journeyed long,
Singing a son,
In search of Eldorado.

But he grew old -
This knight so bold -
And o'er his heart a shadow -
Fell as he found
No spot of ground
That looked like Eldorado.

And, as his strength
Failed him at length,
He met a pilgrim shadow -
'Shadow,' said he,
'Where can it be -
This land of Eldorado?'

'Over the Mountains
Of the Moon,
Down the Valley of the Shadow,
Ride, boldly ride,'
The shade replied, -
'If you seek for Eldorado!'

Man's lust for gold spans the centuries and the discovery of gold only increased the insatiable desire to have more of it.  This lust for wealth gave rise to one of the most enduring legends in memory.  That of the fabled lost city of Eldorado, where the very streets are paved in gold.  Throughout the 16th and 17th century numerous explorers have gone in search of this gilded city, wasting money and lives in the process, yet none have found it.  And for good reason.

City of Gold by Karen H

The legend of Eldorado or El Dorado, meaning 'the gilded one' or 'the gilded man' in Spanish, can be traced back to the 1530s when the Spanish conquistador Gonzalo Jimenex de Quesade discovered the Muisca tribe.  And here he met the Gilded Man.  Quezada returned with this fabulous story  and, in 1541, Francisco Orellana and Gongzalo Pizarro left Quito to find El Dorado.  Only they didn't find a city paved with gold.  Instead, they documented the following ceremony:

    The ceremony took place on the appointment of a new ruler. Before taking office, he spent some time secluded in a cave, without women, forbidden to eat salt and chill pepper, or to go out during daylight. The first journey he had to make was to go to the great lagoon of Guatavita, to make offerings and sacrifices to the demon which they worshipped as their god and lord. During the ceremony which took place at the lagoon, they made a raft of rushes, embellishing and decorating it with the most attractive things they had. They put on it four lighted braziers in which they burned much moque, which is the incense of these natives, and also resin and many other perfumes. The lagoon was large and deep, so that a ship with high sides could sail on it, all loaded with an infinity of men and women dressed in fine plumes, golden plaques and crowns... As soon as those on the raft began to burn incense, they also lit braziers on the shore, so that the smoke hid the light of day.

El Dorado, The Golden Man

    At this time they stripped the heir to his skin, and anointed him with a sticky earth on which they placed gold dust so that he was completely covered with this metal. They placed him on the raft ... and at his feet they placed a great heap of gold and emeralds for him to offer to his god. In the raft with him went four principal subject chiefs, decked in plumes, crowns, bracelets, pendants and ear rings all of gold. They, too, were naked, and each one carried his offering.... when the raft reached the center of the lagoon, they raised a banner as a signal for silence. The gilded Indian then... [threw] out all the pile of gold into the middle of the lake, and the chiefs who had accompanied him did the same on their own accounts. ... After this they lowered the flag, which had remained up during the whole time of offering, and, as the raft moved towards the shore, the shouting began again, with pipes, flutes, and large teams of singers and dancers. With this ceremony the new ruler was received, and was recognized as lord and king.

The Golden Man

With every telling the story grew and grew until the ceremony transformed and the Gilded One became the Gilded King of a city where everything was built of gold.  A city so rich that that King could wear the the dust of gold, seeing all other ornaments or fine clothing as vulgar.  And so the legend of the lost City of Eldorado was born. 

He went about all covered with powdered gold as casually as if it were powdered salt.  For it seemed to him that to wear any other finery was less beautiful, and that to put on ornaments or arms made of gold worked by hammering, stamping, or by other means was a vulgar and common thing.

However, the location of this mythical land shifted from place to place and, no matter where the explorers and gold hunters searched, it always seemed to be out of reach.  Attempts to drain Lake Guatavita, which was believed to be the same as that used during the ceremony, occurred twice in the 16th century and twice again in the 1800s.  However, all attempts were fruitless.  And to this day the endless riches of El Dorado remain a legend.

 El-Dorado by golpeart

If you would like to know more about the legend of El Dorado and the origins of that legend, take a look at some of the following sources:

Conquistadors: Searching for El Dorado, the terrifying Spanish conquest of the Aztec and Inca empires by John Pemberton
Sir Walter Ralegh and the Quest for El Dorado by Marc Aronson
Eldorado! The Archaeology of Gold Mining in the Far North edited by Catherine Holder Spude, Robin O. Mills, Karl Gurcke, and Roderick Sprague
Travel Amazing South America
Ancient History Encyclopedia
National Geographic - El Dorado Legend
NewMyths.com



The Castle of Camelot

Camelot is the famous legendary castle of the medieval stories of King Arthur.  It is said that it was where Arthur held his court, where he sat with his Knights of the Round Table, where the quest for the Holy Grail first began.  Camelot  has come to symbolise the very centre of the world of King Arthur.

Idylls of the King by Gustave Dore 1868

Upon a certain Ascension Day King Arthur had come from Caerleon, and had held a very magnificent court at Camelot as was fitting on such a day.
                                                                                                        Chrétien de Troyes

This is the first mention of the mythical city of Camelot and comes from Chrétien de Troyes Lancelot or 'Knight of the Cart', written between 1170 and 1185.  From this one sentence, an entire legend was created.  The famous Camelot castle, where legend states King Arthur held his court, is regarded by most scholars as being entirely fictional.  However, arguments for the 'real Camelot' have been ongoing since the 15th century.  And one has to wonder how such a small mention of Camelot turned into a full blown legend.

The answer: Embellishment, embellishment and more embellishment!

Cadbury Castle, Somerset

 The next time we hear of Camelot, it is within the literature of Thomas Malory, first published in 1485.  Here he mentions 'a castle called Camelot' where 'the king would let make a council-general and a great jousts.'  In the same literature it becomes 'the city of Camelot' and before long it has a location: 'the City of Camelot, that is in English Winchester.'  And before you know it, Camelot becomes more than a city and turns into 'the land of Camelot,...'  Despite the many mentions of this legendary place within Malory's Le Morte D'Arthur, there's not a single detailed description of Camelot.

 The Court of King Arthur

Within the minds of those that have searched for this legendary place, the image of Camelot is drawn from Geoffrey of Monmouths Historia Regum Britanniae, written in around 1136 Historia Regum Britanniae, where he writes:

...the City of Legions (Caerleon) as a proper place for his purpose.  For besides its great wealth above the other cities, its situation.... was most pleasant...  For on one side it was washed by that noble river, so that the kings and prince from the countries beyond the seas might have the convenience of sailing up to it.  On the other side, the beauty of the meadows and groves, and magnificence of the royal palaces with lofty gilded roofs that adorned it, made it even rival the grandeur of Rome.  It was also famous for two churches, whereof one was build in honour of the martyr Julius, and adorned with a choir of virgins... but the other.... was the third metropolitan church of Britain.  Besides, there was a college of two hundred philosophers....  In this place, therefore, which afforded such delights,  were preparations made for the ensuing festival.

 Feasting at King Arthur's Court

Through embellishment and the combining of different stories Camelot has become a most enduring legendary place which, despite countless searches and many, many theories of the possible locations  - Camboglanna, Cadbury Castle and Winchester to name a few -, has not and may never be found.

If you're interest in finding out about the possible locations of Camelot and the legends of King Arthur, it's worth looking at some of the following sources:

The Official Graham Phillips Website
Castles and Palaces of the World
Revealing King Arthur: Swords, Stones and Digging for Camelot by Christopher Gidlow 
Finding King Arthur by Adam Ardrey
Arthur and the Lost Kingdoms by Alistar Moffat

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon

Babylon is the most famous city of ancient Mesopotamia, whose ruins lie in modern Iraq and owes its fame to the many references contained within the Bible.  While we know without doubt that Babylon existed, the same cannot be said about it's hanging gardens.

Hanging Gardens of Babylon

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon have been described as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and is believed to have been built on the banks of the river Euphrates in around 600BC.  However, it is the only Wonder which is yet to be located, if it existed at all.  With contradictory documentation and no remaining evidence of these gardens to be seen, some would say that the Hanging Gardens of Babylon are nothing but myth and imagination.

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were first described in the 3rd century BC by Berossus.  Unfortunately the original account no longer exists.  However, his description of the gardens was copied by later historians, including Flavius Josephus, in his books Contra Apionem or Against Apion, and Antiquities of the Jews.  The following quote it taken from the Contra Apionem:

 The Hanging Gardens of Babylon

In this palace he (Nebuchadnezzar II) erected very high walks, supported by stone pillars; and by planting what was called a pensile paradise, and replenishing it with all sorts of trees, he rendered the prospect an exact resemblance of a mountain country.  This he did to gratify his queen, because she had been brought up in Media, and was fond of a mountainous situation.

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon

The Hanging Gardens are mentioned again in the 23 volume Persica by Ctesis of Cnidus in around 400 BC.  Again, this literature no longer exists, but was copied in detail by Diodorus Siculus in Book II of Bibbiotheca historica (Historical Library), a quote of which follows:

Beside the citadel was the building known as the Hanging Garden. This wooded enclosure was square in shape with sides four hundred feet long, and sloped like a hillside with terrace built on terrace as they are in a theater. During the building of the terraces galleries were built underneath them which carried the entire weight of the gardens, each rising a little above the one before it on the ascent. The uppermost gallery, which was 75 feet high, supported the highest level of the garden, and this was the same height as the battlements of the city-wall. The walls of this structure, which cost a fortune to build, were 22 feet thick, and were separated by passages 10 feet wide. The galleries were roofed with stone beams 16 feet long and 4 feet wide. Above these beams there was first a layer of reeds set in great quantities of bitumen, then two courses of baked brick bounded with cement, and then a covering of lead so that moisture from the soil would not be able to sink through. On this was piled earth, deep enough to contain the roots of the largest trees, and when it was leveled over, the garden was planted with all sorts of trees which would appeal to those who saw them either by their great size or by the beauty of their appearance. Because of their arrangement the galleries were all open to the light, and contained royal apartments of all kinds. One gallery had shafts leading from the highest level and machinery for raising water in great quantities from the river and supplying it to the gardens. This machinery was entirely enclosed, and so could not be seen from the outside. 

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon by LarsRune

And then, in around 310-301 BC, Clitarchus, in his History of Alexander which only today survives in fragments, gave the following account of the Gardens, which was later reproduced by Quintus Curtius Rufus in 31-41 AD:

The Babylonians also have a citadel 3,7 kilometers in circumference. The foundations of its turrets are sunk ten meters into the ground and the fortifications rise 24 meters above it at the highest point. On its summit are the hanging gardens, a wonder celebrated by the fables of the Greeks. They are as high as the top of the walls and owe their charm to the shade of many trees. The columns supporting the whole edifice are built of rock, and on top of them is a flat surface of squared stones strong enough to bear the deep layer of earth placed upon it and the water used for irrigating it.

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon by Feather802

While it's impossible to say with absolute certainty that the Hanging Gardens of Babylon did once exist, the above accounts along with many others make it very difficult to say that they are pure imagination.  However, there is not a single mention of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon in the Babylon cuneiform records, and this makes scholars question its very existence.  While many will conclude that the Hanging Gardens once existed, physical evidence remains elusive, with many believed that they were destroyed by several earthquakes in around 226BC, making them the stuff of legend.

For detailed information on the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, check out the following sources:

Art History with Michelli
The Mystery of the Hanging Garden of Babylon: An Elusive World Wonder Traced by Stephanie Dalley
Legends of the Ancient World: The Life and Legacy of King Nebuchadnezzar II by Charles River Editors
Ancient History Encyclopedia

Iram - The Atlantis of the Sand

And the 'Ad, they were destroyed by a furious Wind,
exceedingly violent;
He made it rage against them seven nights and eight days
in succession: so that thou couldst see the (whole) people
lying prostrate in its (path),
as they had been roots of hollow palm-trees tumbled
down!
Then seest thou any of them left surviving?
        (Surat  al-Haaqqa: 6-8, The Qur'an)

 Ubar - Iram of the pillars by RogerMV

Iram of the Pillars, also known as Ubar amongst other names, is a mythical lost city said to reside somewhere in the Rub' al Khali desert, also known as the Empty-quarter.  Associated with the people of Ad, this Atlantis of the Sands was believed to consist of castles made of gold, silver and precious gems with rivers flowing beneath them.  First appearing in the Quran, Iram of the Pillars was later described in the book Arabian Nights.

The Atlantis of the Sands by Lawrence of Arabia

Muhammad, preaching in Mecca in around 640-650 said of the destruction of the people of Ad and with them Iram of the Pillars:

Arrogant and unjust were the men of 'Ad.  'Who is mightier than we?' they used to say.  Could they not see that Allah, who had created them, was mightier than they?  Yet they denied our revelations.  So over a few ill-omened days, We let loose on them a howling gale, that they might taste a dire punishment in this life; but more terribled will be the punishment of the life to come.' 
In the Quran the following is written of the destruction of Iram of the Pillars and its people: 'When morning came there was nothing to be seen besides their ruined dwellings.  Thus We reward the wrongdoers.

Irem by Vilk42

By medieval times, the tale of the rise and fall of Iram had been told and retold countless times and were soon written into the fabric of Arabian Nights with many addition details.  The following is an extract from Sir Richard Burton's 1850 translation of The Arabian Nights:

    IT is related that Abdullah bin Abi Kilabah went forth in quest of a she-camel which had strayed from him, and as he was wandering in the deserts of Al-Yaman and the district of Saba, behold, he came a great city girt by a vast castle around which were palaces and pavilions that rose high into middle air. He made for the place thinking to find there folk of whom he might ask concerning his she-camel. But when he reached it, he found it desolate, without a living soul in it. So (quoth he) I alighted and, hobbling my dromedary, and composing my mind, entered into the city.
    Now when I came to the castle, I found it had two vast gates (never in the world was seen their like for size and height) inlaid with all manner jewels and jacinths, white and red, yellow and green. Beholding this, I marveled with great marvel and thought the case mighty wondrous. Then, entering the citadel in a flutter of fear and dazed with surprise and affright, I found it long and wide, about equaling Al-Medinah in point of size. And therein were lofty palaces laid out in pavilions all built of gold and silver and inlaid with many colored jewels and jacinths and chrysolites and pearls. And the door leaves in the pavilions were like those of the castle for beauty, and their floors were strewn with great pearls and balls, no smaller than hazelnuts, of musk and ambergris and saffron.
    Now when I came within the heart of the city and saw therein no created beings of the Sons of Adam, I was near swooning and dying for fear. Moreover, I looked down from the great roofs of the pavilion chambers and their balconies and saw rivers running under them, and in the main streets were fruit-laden trees and tall palms, and the manner of their building was one brick of gold and one of silver. So I said to myself, "Doubtless this is the Paradise promised for the world to come." Then I loaded me with the jewels of its gravel and the musk of its dust as much as I could carry, and returned to my own country, where I told the folk what I had seen.
                                                              The Arabian Nights Translated by Sir Richard Burton 1850

Dusk in Irem by demondreamerblood

It is believed that Iram or Ubar was destroyed suddenly by some great cataclysmic event.  However, accounts of this destruction vary.  Some speak of an 'icy gale, turbulent with dust', with the 'Barren Wing that is ultimately unleashed  [being] supremely violent'.  This has 'the characteristics of a tornado, an all-but-unknown phenomenon in southern Arabia.'

Other accounts tells us that Iram/Ubar was destroyed by a 'Divine Shout', and others tells us that destruction came when 'suddenly the earth opened around it and Iram, bathed in a strange twilight, began to sink slowly down until the whole city was completely swallowed up.  All that remained was an endless wilderness of empty, shifting sands across which the winds moaned and howled.'
Whatever the case, Iram or Ubar or even the Atlantis of the Sands remains a legend and the location, for now, remains a mystery.

 Iram of the Pillars

If you want to know more about the lost city of Iram, check out the following sources:

Perished Nations by Hârun Yahya
The A to Z of Prophets in Islam and Judaism By Scott B. Noegel, Brannon M. Wheeler
The Road to Ubar: Finding the Atlantis of the Sands by Nicholas Clapp


That's it for today.  Tomorrow we will look at more Lost Places of Legend.  Until next time..



Other Useful Resources

Encyclopedia of Imaginary and Mythical Places by Theresa Bane
Seven Wonders of the Ancient World