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Summary

King Arthur's seat on Tintagel island - on the floor there are a number, about twenty, of circular sinkings known as "cups and saucers" which resemble cup marks.

Protected Status: None recorded

Other References/Statuses

• Primary Record No. (1985-2009): 23165.54

Monument Type(s):

• CUP MARKED STONE (Unknown date)
• CUP MARKED STONE (Bronze Age - 2500 BC to 801 BC)

Full description

King Arthur's seat on Tintagel island is a natural rock crevice with a narrow slit forming an aperture resembling a window on one side. On the floor of this rock shelter there are a number, about twenty, of circular sinkings known as "cups and saucers". These resemble cup marks (cups only; not cup and ring marks) of different sizes and appear to be man made (b15). The cup marks were sketched by Preston Jones and are discussed by Hartgroves in 1987 (b13). The so called footprint is a small hollow in the exposed bedrock at the highest point of Tintagel Island which commands a view of Tintagel church and about thirty miles of the mainland coast to the south west. At surface level the hollow measures about 23cm by 43cm and is roughly rectangular. The sides slope inwards to a depth 8 or 9 cm and form an ovoid about 15cm by 25cm, having the general form of a human footprint. Natural erosion makes it impossible to judge whether the feature is entirely natural or whether it was an original cavity in the rock improved upon and altered. Thomas examines the possibility of its link with places of inauguration where a chieftain or king was required to stand as a symbolic gesture at the assumption of territorial lordship (b15). The monument was included in the Schedule on 9/10/1981 and the scheduling updated on 18/11/1996.

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Site history:
2: 1976. QUINNELL, NV / OS
3: 1976. SHEPPARD, PA / DOE
5: 1982. DARK, K / UNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELD
7: 1984. RCHME
8: 1985. PRESTON JONES, AND HARTGROVES, S / CAU
10: 1986. THOMAS, C / RCHME
12: 1988. THORPE, C / CAU
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<1> Leland, J, 1535, The Itinerary of John Leland (Bibliographic reference). SCO3862.

<2> Carew, R, 1969, The Survey of Cornwall 1602, 191 (Bibliographic reference). SCO3044.

<3> Wilkinson, JJ, 1871, Tintagel Castle, VOL 3, 231 (Article in Journal). SCO5049.

<4> WHITLEY, HM, 1885, NOTES ON GRENVILLE'S PLOT OF TINTAGEL CASTLE (Unedited Source). SCO6437.

<5> Ordnance Survey, 1900s, 2nd Edition 1:2500 Map (Cartographic materials). SCO4050.

<6> Radford, CAR, 1935, Tintagel Castle (DOE Guide) (Bibliographic reference). SCO4214.

<7> Ordnance Survey, 1970s, 1:10,000 OS Map (Cartographic materials). SCO4045.

<8> Radford, CAR, 1935, Tintagel Castle (DOE Guide) (Bibliographic reference). SCO4214.

<9> Thomas, AC, 1981, A Provisional List of Imported Pottery from Post Roman Western Britain & Ireland (Bibliographic reference). SCO4597.

<10> Browse, RG, 1982, Tintagel Castle, VOL 21, 189-190 (Article in Journal). SCO2926.

<11> Thomas, AC, 1984, Tintagel Site Report, 25/5/1984 (Bibliographic reference). SCO4640.

<12> THOMAS, AC, 1986, TINTAGEL CASTLE (ENGLISH HERITAGE GUIDE BOOK) (Unedited Source). SCO8852.

<13> Hartgroves, S, 1987, The cup-marked stones of Stithians reservoir, VOL 26, 69-84 (Article in Journal). SCO3455.

<14> Hartgroves, S & Walker, R, 1989, Excavations in the Lower Ward, Tintagel Castle, 1986 (Cornish Studies No.16, 1988), VOL 16, 9-30 (Cornwall Event Report). SCO5116.

<15> Thomas, AC, 1988, Minor Sites at Tintagel Island, VOL 16, 31-48 (Article in Journal). SCO4627.

<16> Thomas, AC, 1988, Cau Excavations at Tintagel Island in 1988, VOL 16, 49-60 (Article in Journal). SCO4600.

<17> Padel, OJ, 1988, Tintagel in the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries, VOL 16, 61-66 (Article in Journal). SCO5135.

<18> O'Mahoney, C, 1988, Medieval Pottery from Tintagel: a Summary, VOL 16, 69-78 (Article in Journal). SCO4040.

<19> Thorpe, C, 1988, Incised Pictorial Slates at Tintagel, VOL 16, 69-78 (Article in Journal). SCO4717.

<20> THOMAS, AC, 1989, LECTURE TO CAS, 20 JAN 1989 (Unedited Source). SCO8919.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events: none recorded

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