Archaeology Magazine - January 1970 - 56

early sixth century) occupationand,
in some cases, refortificationof preRoman strongholds.For dating purposes, the main finds are sherds of
two types of Mediterranean pottery
identifiedas "Tintagel A" and "Tintagel B," because they were first
discoveredat Tintagel Castle underneath the medieval remains. Tintagel, in the legends, figures as the
birthplace of Arthur. The B-type
sherds are grooved fragments of
amphorae, presumably receptacles
for oil and wine imported by postRoman Celtic chieftains from the
Eastern Mediterranean.Type A consists of more polished sherds from
drinking vessels, votive vessels and
the like. Some metal objects, such
as a knife, a gilt-bronzebutton and
a Celtic-typebronze head, can also
be attributed to the immediatepostRoman age. On Glastonbury Tor
and on the south side of Glastonbury Abbey'sLady Chapel are grave
remains from the appropriate period. Two sets of these from the
Abbey,may lend credibility to the
medieval chroniclers' reports that
the bones of King Arthur and Queen
Guinevere were found there at the
end of the twelfth century and reburied in 1278by order of King Edward I in the choir of the medieval
church. At Tintagel and South Cadbury castle, the dark-age Celtic remains are substantial but concealed
beneath Saxon and later medieval
construction. At Castle Dore and
the northern Welch sites, they are
purer and easier to decipher. South
Cadbury, because of its size, its location and the richness of the finds
there, seems the most likely site of
"many-towered Camelot," but the
towers must have been of wood and
the pattern of the castle cannot as
yet be reconstructed. The directors
of the 1966 and 1967 excavations
there are satisfied that they have
found the remains of the main residence of a very great chieftain.
Fragmentsof Merovingianglass, remains of the Mediterranean types
of pottery and signs of refortification in the immediate post-Roman
period all substantiatethe thesis.
This book, like the excavations
and speculations which preceded
and accompanied it, has much to
offer both for professionalsand for
amateurs who really want to know.
Margaret Hastings
Douglass College
56

TWO ILLUMINATED
MAPSOF ARTHURIAN
LEGEND
LANfiDSt0F ^THaUR
Extracts
fromthe pagesof Malory,Geoftogetheroverthefaceof Britainand matched

itrated and described,togetherwith their
înds.Scenesfromthe storiesof Tristan,Iseult,
celot,Guinevere,Gawaine,Galahad,Balin,
Modred,Merlinand manymoreare dramatist 33"X26V'"designed
in fivecolours,predominantly
greenandgold
ARTHURIAN CORNWALL
In the legendarypast that hangs like a
sea of mistoverCornwallliesthe mystery
of Arthur'sbirthand death.Thismapillustrates many little knownsites associated

jhgBSfcJ

Size23"x 30"designed
in
á
LAND
OFARTHUR $5.60
OR BOTHMAPSFOR $8.50
ARTHURIAN
CORNWALL
$3.75
(Allpricesincludepostageinoverseaspack)
FromIan ForresterRoberts
115Moorfield
Road,Brockworth,
Gloucester,
England
THECERAMIC
OFTHECENTRALsequencethe ceramics,thereby verHISTORY
HIGHLANDS
OF CHIAPAS,
MEXICO,
by ifying the stratification revealed
T. Patrick Culbert. viii, 91 pages, through excavationand determining
38 figures, 6 charts, 3 tables. New the boundaries of the cultural
World Archaeological Foundation, phases. Five cultural phases spanProvo, Utah 1965 (Papers of the ning a period from about 300 B.c.
New World Archaeological Foun- to A.D.1524 were indicated by this
dation, 19, Publication 14) $3.00
and other means.
Ceramic data is related to other
The reviewer was pleased to find
as well as ethnoarchaeological
the scope of this monograph to be graphic and
information
linguistic
much broader than is indicated by from this and surrounding regions
its title. Culbert's well executed ce- to obtain a more complete
ramic study is an abridgementof his of the overall culture historypicture
of the
doctoral dissertationwhich provides Central Highlands. Perhaps the
not only a reconstructionof the ce- most enlightening observations are
ramic history of the Central High- as follows: 1) The Central Highlands of Chiapas but uses the in- lands and Grijalva Valley have a
formation to consider broader cul- number of ceramic traditions that
ture historical problems in this ar- connect them with the Lowland
chaeologically little known region Maya and neighboringregions durof Mesoamerica.
ing Late Preclassic times (ca. 300
The greater portion of the mono- B.c.-A.D.100); 2) Certain modern
graph is devoted to the reconstruc- villages in the Central Highlands
tion of the ceramic history. Culbert may well have specialized in the
first delineates the ceramic types production of specifictypes of potand vessel forms recovered from tery since the Classic period (ca.
both his own test excavations and A.D. 300); 3) The ceramic comfrom other well defined sources.He plexes throughout the entire history
then utilizes the seriation method to of the region have their closest out-

Archaeology Magazine - January 1970

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Archaeology Magazine - January 1970