Tintagel Castle

Dramatically situated on a windswept Cornish headland, Tintagel Castle is one of the most spectacular historic sites in Britain. It is also one of the most legendary, linked with the tales of King Arthur since the Middle Ages. The remains of the 13th-century castle, built in the 1230s and 1240s by the fabulously rich Richard, earl of Cornwall, brother of Henry III, stand among the remains of a much earlier and more extensive settlement dating from the fifth to seventh centuries. Recent excavations have revealed traces of dozens of houses and thousands of fragments of pottery and glass, evidence of a literate but still mysterious community trading in luxury goods with places as far away as Africa. This new guide, beautifully illustrated with plans, maps and historical images, includes a tour and a history of the site and the characters associated with it.