The Lost Tomb of King Arthur: The Search for Camelot and the Isle of Avalon

The Lost Tomb of King Arthur by Graham Phillips is excellent. Mr. Phillips is an enthusiastic amateur searching for the lost grave of the mythical King Arthur made famous by countless books and movies. Most, if not all, “real” historians and archeologist have long rejected the famous king as only a romantic myth, but Graham Phillips decided to doggedly search out every remaining inkling to determine if the ancient post-Roman king did exist and, if he did, where he might be entombed.Mr. Phillips believes he has turned the trick and actually found not only that the king actually existed, along with Merlin – not as a wizard – but also his final resting place. He has managed to obtain the assistance of the National Geographic Society, and successfully uncovered connecting clues that were overlooked or discounted by the professionals.Graham Phillips searched the archives of many a dusty book of lore, and trod the actual physical locals of the forts and battles in his pursuit of the real history of the kings of the Britons. Normally, this would be dull reading; however, Phillips has managed to turn this dull and dusty quest into an enjoyable and fascinating read. It was a lot of fun following his various clues. The author is able to bring real life to the subject of the post-Roman period in England and easily explains what happened after the Angles and Saxons arrived. The overthrow of the Britons is a torrid story filled with heartbreak and conquest, fleeing queens and kings, and the contest for power. This is history at its best.For those of a more cynical bent, Mr. Phillips does base most of his search on linguistic associations. He is an expert at putting together clues from ancient languages, fascinating in itself, but somewhat limiting as far as archeology is concerned. Since there are no records of note from the time following the departure of the Roman Legions, Mr. Phillips has to follow the scantiest of clues to his goal. Did he lose his way? Mr. Phillips admits much of the evidence is thin. Those looking for hard boiled substance, such as stone carved lists, headstones with particular names, signed histories with exacting places catalogued written in 500AD will be sorely disappointed. After all, the history is lost because these archeological items and historical writings do not exist. If they did exist there would be no need for Mr. Phillips.I think the author has done a credible job of tracing through a spider web of almost nothing to a reasonable conclusion about King Arthur and his final resting place. The threads are faint, but no historian could have done better. He is a brilliant thinker and his ability to connect traces of fact to actual artifacts, poems, and stories is remarkable. Is he right? Until more is known it is impossible to tell, but his story is gripping, fun, and insightful in ways everyone can appreciate.Highly recommended.AD2

I will say right from the start that 2 things are quite obvious about this book. 1) It is entertaining and 2) The author thinks quite highly of himself, though he does not consider himself a historian, an archaeologist, or even a professional textual researcher. The best way to describe it, is when someone gets a little knowledge in a subject, and instantly knows more than their professors at University, who are obviously not as smart as them. This is the feel one gets - especially if they ARE a historian, or archaeologist, or anthropologist.However the book is topically entertaining, and other then some roughly constructed rhetoric, reads like a great Jr. High 'historic novel'. So if you want a light read on an interesting topic, written by a professional writer who believes they are far more knowledgeable then the actual experts in the field (and which WILL make any serious scholar belly-laugh), this is your book. If you also believe that ancient astronauts formed the Maya civilization and the pyramids in Egypt, or that archaeology and field research is just like the Indiana Jones movies - GET THIS BOOK NOW! It gets 4 stars for entertainment (Comedy) and 2 stars for content and quality of research - so 3 stars on average.

The story is read; yet, the history is never finished. Published in 2016; excellent 'page turner'. The author spends most of his life doing exhaustive research on: King Arthur; 'Owain Ddantgwyn' & (also, known as 'Bold Bear'.) He was in fact a real leader, King, and chieftain to 'Powys'; a kingdom of ancient Britain.The writing is smooth and pleasant. When reading you're unaware of your surroundings. However, the last three chapters are cumbersome. The last three chapters are too condensed; and the proofreading is not as good. The goal of finding: 'The Lost Tomb of King Arthur' is never achieved. The author however, assures you that he 'knows' where Arthur is buried. With the right archaeological equipment and experts; he would be able to locate Arthur readily. Not true. You rightly or wrongly, come to the conclusion; that this will become the 'never-ending saga' for centuries to come. There is no ending 'EVER'! Arthur has other 'ideas'. It seems that a few years after this book is published there is an April 1st 2020 story found in at least two articles. On April 1st 2020 in an article by 'MyLondon'; details an interesting to say the least event. The title of the article: 'King Arthur's Remains Discovered By Shocked Plumber Beneath Brent Cross Purchasing Center.' Depending on the authenticity of the 'Brent Cross Shopping Centre Find'; maybe, a sequel to the book would be warranted. I have nothing but profound respect for the author. I believe however, it may become necessary to write: 'The Continuing Saga of': 'King Arthur the Once and Future King.'

The search for a real Arthur is early history's version of 'Ripperology' - unlikely to be proven due to lack of evidence. This book is an intriguing and obsessive delve into the hazy story of King Arthur. Was he a real historical figure or merely a legend from a time of turmoil? The author patronises the reader with a simplistic lesson in the background stuff - an annoying dumbed-down school book approach for hardened Arthur-ites, but perhaps an approach insisted on by the publisher, looking to cast their net to a wider audience. The book builds to a big reveal concerning 'evidence' that Arthur was a real Dark Ages King, most likely based in mid-Wales. I wonder about the fact that most surviving mentions of an Arthur operating in the early Sixth century comes from Welsh sources - is this because the Anglo-Saxons destroyed all records in the territories they captured (modern day England) leaving just a flimsy, half-glimpsed narrative from the unconquered lands (Wales)?Apart from the patronising editorial approach, I found this an interesting read, particularly the attempt at presenting a solution to the who, where and when of King Arthur. Still far from proven, it gives an interesting theory to the debate that warrants further investigation.

The author of thie book featured in an epsiode of Jamie Theakston's 'Fobbiden History' tv show and made a compelling argument for his theory. I have ready many books on the subject over the years, but this is by far the most believable account of who Arthur was, were he was from and were he now lies. No spoilers from me, but if you're a history buff with an interest in the Arthurian legend, this common sense text should leave you as sure as I now am as to the truth behind the legend.

Phillips makes a very good case for the location of the last resting place of the person known to us through myth as King Arthur. Phillips has undertaken a mammoth amount of work, completed over two and a half decades, to follow the demise of the Britons and the leaders of the British tribes. Phillips firmly locates Arthur as a leader of the kingdom of Powys, uncovering him as the man named Owain Ddangwyn or 'The Bear' as he is remembered in the title Arthur, and showing how historical records do accord with some archaeological evidence indicating the place of his demise. A thoroughly compelling read. Absorbing and illuminating in equal measure.

The text by Phillips is "the untold story" of his research that led to the earlier book that he wrote jointly with Martin Keatman and which was entitled "King Arthur the True Story". That earlier work was well set out but short on referencing since it was written to appeal to the layman. It also had the advantage of summaries to each chapter.By contrast this current work is turgid, rambling and adds nothing to the earlier work. Because of the style of writing it is very hard to read and I simply cannot endorse that anyone having read the earlier work should bother.

As a layman rather than a Dark Ages scholar, I found this book fascinating. I like the author's conversational style, which reminds me of the late Colin Wilson, and to my mind he makes a convincing case. However, a video on his website suggests that after the book's publication he revised his ideas about where Arthur's grave might be found, and now thinks that it could lie underneath a road called the B4397. If this is his latest conclusion, then prospects for an archaeological dig would seem to be nil. What an anticlimax. Furthermore, a map of the Berth Hill area, which Phillips shows us on his video, contains details not included on the map in the book (page 235), which is annoying.