Part 3

So it appears that the Seat of Arthur was in Wales and it has been claimed by the historians Blackett and Wilson that the Arthur of our legends was none other than Arthur King of Glamorgan  & Gwent.

It is worth noting here the preface to the book “King Arthur, King of Glamorgan & Gwent” and how it has been seen by other notable people. It seems that we must not lay claim to Arthur even in his own Country as others have already filled in the blanks and do not want the ashes of Arthur stirred up, perhaps for their own ends.

"The discovery of King Arthur involved 'blood, sweat, toil and tears'. It was an exhausting, nerve wracking and tremendously frustrating task. We were driving along a trail that to everyone else seemed ludicrous and cold. For every correct avenue we steered through, there were a hundred blind ones. Somehow there always seemedto be an obscure detail, a minor find or confirmation always seemed to be there, tantalising us to press ahead when things seemed to be at a dead end.We alwasy felt that the secret of the Great King was there is only we could maintain our stamina, and keep finding time and money. We have to date spent over £58,000 of OUR OWN money. A.T. Blackett sold his house and used up his savings. Alan Wilson used up all his money, sold his car, his insurances and collected articles of value. However that does not include all the time and work, which was done on the lowest possible budget, cheap travel, cheap lodgings, at times sleeping in the old car in foreign countries.

We anticipate our discoveries will attract a large number of tourists. Therefore we wrote to the Welsh Tourist Board, descibing what we had and asking for a meeting. By return post we received a sarcastic letter, not the elementary courtesy of arranging a meeting. Not surprising as Lord Parry head of the Welsh Tourist Board was a schoolteacher, who three times stood for Parliament and failed, but was rewarded by the Labour Party, by being made a Lord and given his job.

When we approached the London Arts Council we were told to , "go and find a publisher, we do not support books or projects of this nature". Which is a lie. They again expressed cynical indifference without meeting us.............................

A member of the House of Lords estimated that our discoveries could create at least 20,000 jobs. The Government gave an American in Belfast £70 million to try to create  a mere 2,000 jobs, they offered the Datsun Company £150 million in grants to create 20,000 jobs....................... We could create a whole new set of industries with our discoveries. If things run to form, the fat cats in London would clean up, they would manufacture the goods. They would buy up Hotels, Restaurants and Bars for the tourist trade. The employment would go elsewhere and the people of South Wales would not benefit.All the goods would be manufactured abroad and the jobs would go elsewhere. We have a standard copyright on the major British Kings, including the King Arthur motifs. The Government central and local,  refused to recognise the necessity for setting up these industries in advance, to help the unemployed in South Wales. The Government spent a fortune in the late 1960's looking for Arthur in the wrong place. We have spent our own money, taken all the risks and have actually found King Arthur, and insult when he offered us £200 for the books and the T.V. rights of the King Arthur Discoverno-one listens.
The BBC Charter states that they should inform, educate and entertain. When we presented the historical/archaelogical find of the century, they appointed a producer of archaelogical programmes to examine the matter. After being given access to our information, he stated categorically that we were correct. Subsequently we had an obscure reaction and excuses about lack of cash, disregarding the £500 million they receive annually from viewers for TV Licences. We wasted a day travelling to see Hugh Davies of Harlech TV for a 25 minute 'meeting'. He came out with the ultimate insult when he offered us £200 for the books and T.V. rights  of the King Arthur Discovery.

We wrote to some Americans, they said, "Congratulations on your discoveries", we wrote to the Minister of the Environment, he said, "You can be prosecuted.........". Local MP's proved a complete waste of time.

More official and Government bodies which we approached to no avail; Bank of Wales, Barclays, Midland Bank, Bank of Ireland and others. The Welsh Office, the National Economic Development Council, Welsh National Party who acted like a pigmy refusing an Atom Bomb; I.C.F.C., Department of Trade and Industry. Most of these we never actually met or put a proposal to. They either acted out of guesswork, hasty judgement, disbelief and the main reason, fear to make a decision. They never make mistakes because they never do anything. It is far too easy for bureaucrats to say NO to small businesses in Britain. A Bank loaned Butlin todays equivalent of £6 million for an idea and £5 in his pocket. In 1981 the British Government gave £100 million to Egypt, £50 million to rebuild the sewers of Cairo, and hastily refused to back the King Arthur project in Britain, which only required a fraction of the money they waste on other things.

The Professors will no doubt knock our facts to avoid looking foolish. They will try to prevaricate, cloud the issue, to save their faces. All their teaching on this subject will be proven wrong. Some publishers will start telephoning their contacts in the universities, who have written books, or who wish to write books on the Arthurian theme, to make money; prompting them to come out against our facts to protect their investment in the books already in bookshops. They will telephone their contacts in T.V. networks to try to set up situations allowing their puppets to attack our facts. Delay is necessary for them to alter their opinions so that the public forget how wrong they were over a long period and they can withdraw their books from the shelves gradually, substituting them with others, and so saving their faces and investment.

Everyone is familiar with the story of Gallileo who was threatened with terrible tortures and being burned alive simply because he said the world was round. I. Velikovsky, one of the genius thinkers of the twentieth Century was subjected to a virulent, orchestrated campaign of ridicule and persecution, for over thirty years because his theories conflicted with the educational establishment.....Space exploration since Velikovsky's work in 1940 has proved him invariably correct. Everyone forgets now that his enemies were totally wrong.... all the books of these unscrupulous men have now all been safely withdrawn and replaced and they freely use Velikovsky's theories as their own, without ever mentioning the great mans name. There is no level so low that the Establishment will not stoop to it, if it fears its status and privileges will be threatened.

It was no surprise to us when we met the wall of  cynical indifference, in Government and Commercial circles. Those highly paid to make decisions ran for cover when we presented them with a situation which forced them to make a decision. They never make mistakes because they never do anything. They hide behind a fog of policies and terms of reference which protects them completely as long as they keep saying 'NO' without even meeting us or discussing the project with us, or analysing it in any way. Everything that the parasitic bureaucrats, who infest Britain, touch turns to ashes. We were desperate to create a situation which would provide at least 20,000 jobs in a well developed tourist industry. This could not be achieved if it were done half-heartedly in the usual stumbling British manner. Fortunately Alan Wilson has an outstanding record of achievement in large scale developments of this size and Alan Wilson has without exception been correct in the past. Delay is now jeopardising the possibility of thousands of jobs which are badly needed and denying opportunities to people in the area. Alan Wilson has the proven capacity and experience to accomplish this, given proper support. It seems a prophet is never honoured in his own land.

A.T. Blackett went abroad and started his own business from scratch at the age of eighteen. A bold contrast to those who seek safety and security in civil service jobs and banks. They endure timidity instead of confidence and courage from the day they leave school until they finally draw their last pension cheque. When a major tourist industry is created out of this, those who benefit can thank the Iron will an determination of A.T. Blackett who would never accept defeat no matter how hard the going was. As only A.T. Blackett and Alan Wilson know the correct story of King Arthur the founder of Britain, they have added a Historical Novel based on the facts to help those who do not enjoy historical investigations - 'Arthur the War King - and his People of the Dark Ages' - which is now written. For the first time ever, the true story of Arthur and his people is told. We have decided to reveal as much as we can at the present moment of our discoveries, but we fear desecration and abuse, which is against our principles. Details of our struggle will be in a later book. So now on with the story.

Pont Nedd Fechan in the Neath Valley is a place of intrigue and history. It is here that Arthur lies sleeping awaiting the call to rise up and save Wales. Is it under Dinas Rock that the riches of Arthur lie with him and his warriors? The Monks of Glastonbury stole Arthur a long time ago with a hoax that netted them a fortune. Is it time then to lay all the charlatans to rest and bring Arthur back to Wales to the place he was buried and where he awaits his time again, the Neath Valleys.

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In the year 1190, the monks of Glastonbury Abbey in England announced an incredible discovery. According to historical record, the monks began to experience dreams and visions about King Arthur around that time, which prompted them to consult with King Henry II (AD 1133-1189). Henry informed them of a long-kept secret of the royal family: Arthur’s remains were buried in the churchyard of St. Dunstan in Glastonbury. A search was soon commissioned.
Upon excavating the indicated area, the searchers unearthed a massive oak trunk, buried sixteen feet deep just as Henry had described. Inside was a human skeleton which confirmed that they had discovered something special. It was absolutely gigantic. It appeared to be much taller than an average man, and the space between the eye sockets was as wide as the palm of a man’s hand. Apparently, this famous king was truly larger than life.
This skeleton was not alone in its coffin. Alongside it was a second, lying next to a plait of blonde hair. The identities of the two remains were described on an archaic lead cross which was found nearby, inscribed with the Latin message “Hic jacet sepultus inclitus rex Arthurus in insula Avalonia,” meaning “Here lies interred the famous King Arthur on the Isle of Avalon.”
All in all, this was exciting stuff. Men and women flocked to Glastonbury from the surrounding regions, and King Henry II interred the ancient bones. Glastonbury soon became wealthy from the offerings and alms given by those who made the pilgrimage, and few questioned the authenticity of the find. Indeed, a few decades earlier the contemporary historian Geoffrey of Monmouth had claimed that Glastonbury was built on the site of ancient Avalon.

 

It turns out that Arthur’s grave was not the first historically significant discovery made by the monks of Glastonbury. In 1184, they had allegedly found the remains of St. Patrick. However, this claim failed to convince most people, since it was widely believed that St. Patrick had been buried in Ireland. Soon after this incident, the monks of the town had found the bones of famed Saint Dunstan. This discovery, too, was not widely believed. Though St. Dunstan had begun his career in Glastonbury, he ultimately relocated to Canterbury and had been buried there.

It was several years later that the monks found the grave of King Arthur. The discovery was fortuitous, because the monastery was rumored to be in financial trouble. In 1184, the monastic building and church of Glastonbury had been razed to the ground in a fire, leaving the monks of the town in dire monetary straits. However, if an abbey were in possession of a sacred relic, then it would be assured revenue. People would visit from far and wide to see pieces of the cross, clothes and objects of the saints… and bones. King Arthur was not a religious figure, but as one of the foremost heroes in legendary history, his remains attracted a great deal of medieval tourists.
While the circumstances of the discovery cast it in a suspicious light, the story was supported by King Henry II King Edward, who had succeeded Henry III and who had no need for money. But he may have had political motives in backing such a hoax; England was being ruled by Norman conquerors. The Saxons generally accepted these rulers, but those belonging to the Celtic fringes did not. Among those who revolted against the Norman invaders, it was widely believed that Arthur would one day return and fend off the invaders. With proof that the Celts’ savior was truly dead, Edward would secure a greater hold on his subjects. He interred the bones of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere, symbolically aligning his reign with that of England’s most famous hero and putting the matter to rest.
Taken all together, the evidence strongly suggests that the grave of King Arthur was just an elaborate hoax, designed to benefit several parties. Unfortunately the bones and the cross went missing centuries ago, so the evidence cannot be examined using modern techniques. But if they are ever rediscovered, even if they prove to be forgeries, these artifacts would be an interesting testament to the enduring legacy of political trickery and propaganda.

attributed to  (http://merlinlocations.com/?p=473)

So now we have the sword at Hirwaun, we have the Seven Sisters hoard, we have the legends of Dinas Rock and we have the battle scarred mountains of the Dulais Valley where a Prince and his horse fell in battle. We have the burial mounds on the mountains and we have the remains of the army of Rhys ap Tewdwr beneath Crymlyn Bog. What more can we tell you to prove that Arthur belongs here and we must lay claim to him once again and bring back the artefacts to the places they belong.
It is a known fact that a Welshman believed that his soul would not rest in the Land of his Fathers if he was not buried whole. Does the soul of Arthur rest well without his sword and his artefacts that have been taken from us to other places. Is it time to bring back the heart of Arthur to his final resting place and build a monument to him here where he lies? Perhaps the first move would be to bring back the “Chair of Neath”, that was taken from us by warlords who affiliated themselves with the Normans and gave up our legends and our heritage so easily.

A “Chair of Neath” once existed as you can read below:-

From Contributions towards the History of Gwent and Glamorgan - Glamorgiana

The Chair or Gorsedd Beirdd of Tir Iarll was established by Morgan, Lord of Aberavan, instead of that of Arthur in Caerlleon-ar-Wysg. After this, the last Earl of Clare but one granted to it an endowment of plough land in Bettws, Llangynwyd, and also the right of grazing for the six summer months. Hence the chair was removed from Llanfihangel-Avan to Tir Iarll, where it was held alternately at the church of Bettws and at that of Llangynwyd. Hence it was called Cadair Tir Iarll. And there were no such bards as those who were born and matriculated at Tir Iarll.
The chair of Tir Iarll was generally held on the greensward in Bettws Llangynwyd; at other times on the mound of Crug y Diwlith, on the green of Baeden Morgeila. The Chair was held under the protection of the Lordship of Marganwg.
The candidates for the bardic order were to pass very severe examination. The Clerwr, who stood at the lowest step in the ladder, was to be versed in the Welsh language, as to its construction, its derivation, the force of its words, and its orthography. Also he must understand the cardinal metres, feet and alliteration, or cynghanedd. He must be acquainted with the customs and privileges of the bards, certified by record, and annal, archive, and chair-(Gwarantedig o gof, a chadw, a cheudawd, a chadair). He must master the genealogical tables and descent of the Cymry. The examination was viva voce, and the “ymgeiswyr” were to compose impromptu in the principal metres. “Tri anhebcor hawl Clera: gwybod pum mesur englyn – nid amgen unodl union, unodl gwrca, proest gadwynawg, a mesur cywydd dau air hirion; ac eu canu yn awenyddgar, yn marn Pencerdd a ddywed ar ei gydwybod y gellir prydydd o hono.”
This gives a specimen of the original programme of the solsticetic examination of the old Cymry in Cadair Tir Iarll. A Gorsedd graduation did in their hands represent genius and competency; and a “Llais” Gorsedd was a protection and a “Trwydded” (passport) to the literate. At present, the “Llais Gorsedd” represents nothing but empiricism and humbug – bwttwm plwm Teetotalia – something of the same gravity as the Transatlantic Diploma, sold for five pounds, or presented by one hero of the sect to the other. The “bwttwm plwm” in the one and the other is a cheat, and tends to bring learning into discredit.
The motto of Cadair Tir Iarll was “Nidd a lle gellir yn well” – Nothing is truly good that can be excelled.

The Bardic Chair of Neath

There was a “Chair of Neath” which was brought to an unfortunate termination. This was in the time of Jestyn ap Gwrgan. Rhys ap Tewdwr was invited to the Eisteddfod, and he conducted himself suspiciously towards Nest the wife of Jestyn. Jestyn withdrew, without bidding adieu to Rhys ap Tewdwr; a campaign followed; Rhys fell in the battle of Hirwaun Wrgant, and the reside of his army, which fell not on Hirwaun, were swallowed up in the Crymlyn Bog, near Swansea. Jestyn lost his country and his independence. Thus terminated the chair of Neath.

Blackett and Wilson have a lot more information in their book and here is an extract from that book regarding the area of Margam. The two great monasteries of Neath and Margam were of prime importance in our early history. I appears that all manuscripts from Neath were taken to Margam at some point and so it is within those papers that more information may be found regarding our buried history.

The Holy Places

Every nation has its holy places and these once established rarely change. One religion supplanting another often uses the old holy places. These holy places attract the attention of the people and their leaders and often these places are attractions to pilgrims. Here the great make their gifts and seek to have monuments to record their names and titles. Way back in ancient Egypt the gods had their unchanging centres of worship and the Kings recorded their exploits or gifts..............

It was the same in Rome............... There is also the possibility that this is also the case at Margam in South Wales. This was the kingdom known as Essyllwg, meaning, 'abounding in prospects', corrupted to Siluria by the Romans and then to Glywysswg and finally to Gwlad Morgan and Glamorgan under Morgan the successor to Arthur11. We have seen how some ancient practices where weapons, cauldrons and other metal objects were thrown into sacred lakes both in Glamorgan and North Wales and how this became tacked on to the legends of King Arthur. The idea of a hand rising from the depths to take the sword flung into the water we have explained at Llyn Fawr at Hirwaun..

Whilst there are ancient tumuli scattered around Hirwaun it is at Margam that there is a concentration of remains and signs. Here twenty five miles west of Cardiff we have a place with an obvious name correlation with that of the goddess of deep water, Margam. Here also is a great pool, the pool of Kenfig.  This is an extraordinary body of water for it lies in sand dunes a mere 1000 yards from the sea and there is never a trace of salt in the waters. It is a 12 feet deep pool yet covers 70 acres with a two mile circumference.

The pool has always been the subject of local folklore and fable, with talk of a drowned town beneath the water, old tales of dwellings beneath the lake. Such ideas are common in Celtic lands yet one of the old charters of the Margam Abbey of the time of King John records that there was an island or form of dwelling in ruins in the centre of the Great Pool. This immediately brings to mind the find of a great oaken shrine building in the smaller but similarly shallow lake at Llyn Fawr up at Hirwaun.This may mean that Margam and Kenfig were indeed very holy places in Morgannwg. Certainly the mass of ancient mound graves peppering the hills above Margam Abbey indicate this and there is then the masss of stone memorials of the Christian era found in the immediate area.... This does appear to be the place of Kings, with ancient hill forts dotting the hill tops, the stones and mounds. There is the question of why did King Morgan choose this area to build his Abbey and to set up his bishopric and why bare there so nmany traces of ancient saints cells in the area including that of Theoderic who may be the old King Theodoric. There are 27 Royal mound tombs on the hills above Margam.

Strangely there is a buried town at Kenfig but it is not buried by water but by sand. A town was built by Robert the Consul at Kenfig which was an important place in mediaeval Glamorgan as early as 1184 to 85AD. An excavated area of the town's castle shows a bailey curtain wall of around 8-10 acres so it was quite large. The sands of the Severn however encroached on the town around the end of the thirteenth century and during the fourteenth century the situation was critical and a prohibition was placed on any act likely to aid the advance of the sands.

Disaster struck in the sixteenth century when there was a catastrophic sand storm which covered all the arable land of the entire Kenfig borough and reduced it to a waste land as it appears today. So we have a mediaeval Pompeii of the sands, a walled town and castle buried in sand. The indefatigable John Leland wrote in 1540 - 'a village on the east side of Kenfik and a castle, both in ruines and almost shokid and devourid with the sandes that the Severn so casteth up'. Then the new Kenfig was built on higher ground and so the old stories began to get mingled together.

With modern underwater equipment it should be possible to one day find the remains of whatever shrine stood in the lake or pool at Kenfig. How far it will throw light on the ancient people and their practices is difficult to even guess. Odd bits and pieces have been found in the area, a sixth century bronze brooch and later periods iron arrowheads and so on. As all water was regarded as sacred by the Celtic Races there is every chance that this, the largest body of fresh water in Glamorgan would have attracted their attention.........................

Far from being over the search for Arthurs Kingdom has not really started yet.

Arthurs Seat

It is noted in the book “The Monastic Libraries of Wales” how the attribution of the translation of “The Officium B Mariae” was to Davydd Ddu of Hiraddug, but there is now no doubt that the honour belongs to a person, also known as Black David ( Dafydd Ddu) who was a monk or abbot of Neath Abbey. In “Cymry” for January 1893, Chancellor Silvan Evans quotes from a Llanover Manuscript as follows :-
“This is a book called the ‘Exercise of the Welsh Language” the work of Black David the Priest, Abbott of Glyn Neath……. The same David the Priest executed the Book of the Greal ,viz, the Office of Mary in Welsh, and the book of the “Names of the Saints of the Island of Britain”.
It is of note that manuscripts from Neath and Margam Abbeys lie in the British Museum, The Bodlean Library, Trinity College Cambridge and the Royal Library to name just some.
Our History is scattered far and wide and it is needed back here in Neath and Port Talbot to help us find our heart again, a heart that has been ripped out as though Arthur never walked this land and we should be left with nothing.

Not the end but the beginning of Arthurs heart being put to rest in his rightful kingdom.

Thank you for listening

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