's Great Hall with a 13th-century prop
Round Table Arthurian scholar
Norris J. Lacy commented that "Camelot, located nowhere in particular, can be anywhere." The romancers' versions of Camelot draw on earlier traditions of Arthur's fabulous court. The
Celliwig of
Culhwch and Olwen appears in the Welsh Triads as well; this early Welsh material places Wales' greatest leader outside its national boundaries. Geoffrey's description of
Caerleon is probably based on his personal familiarity with the town and
its Roman ruins; it is less clear that Caerleon was associated with Arthur before Geoffrey. Several French romances (
Perlesvaus, the Didot
Perceval attributed to
Robert de Boron, and even the early romances of Chrétien such as
Erec and Enide and
Yvain, the Knight of the Lion) have Arthur hold court at "Carduel in Wales", a northern city based on the real
Carlisle. Malory's identification of Camelot as
Winchester was probably partially inspired by the latter city's history: it had been the capital of
Wessex under
Alfred the Great, and boasted the
Winchester Round Table, an artefact constructed in the 13th century but widely believed to be the original by Malory's time. Caxton rejected the association, saying Camelot was in Wales and that its ruins could still be seen; this is a likely reference to the Roman ruins at
Caerwent. in
Somerset considered it to be the original Camelot. This theory, which was repeated by later antiquaries, is bolstered, or may have derived from, Cadbury's proximity to the
River Cam and the villages of
Queen Camel and
West Camel, and remained popular enough to help inspire a large-scale archaeological dig in the 20th century. The works were by far the largest known fortification of the period, double the size of comparative
caers and with Mediterranean artefacts representing extensive trade and
Saxon ones showing possible conquest. Modern archaeologists follow him in rejecting the name, calling it instead Cadbury Castle hill fort. Despite this, Cadbury remains widely associated with Camelot. The name of the Romano-British town of
Camulodunum (modern
Colchester) was derived from the Celtic god
Camulus. However, it was located well within territory usually thought to have been conquered early in the 5th century by Saxons, so it is unlikely to have been the location of any "true" Camelot, as Arthur is traditionally dated to the late 5th and early 6th century. The town was definitely known as Colchester as early as the
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in 917. Even
Colchester Museum argues strongly regarding the historical Arthur: "It would be impossible and inconceivable to link him to the Colchester area, or to Essex more generally," pointing out that the connection between the name Camulodunum and Colchester was unknown until the 18th century. Arthurian scholar Peter Field has suggested that another Camulodunum, a former Roman fort, is a likely location of King Arthur's Camelot and that "
Slack, on the outskirts of
Huddersfield in
West Yorkshire," is where Arthur would have held court. This is because of the name, and also regarding its strategic location: it is but a few miles from the extreme south-west of Hen Ogledd (also making close to
North Wales), and would have been a flagship point in staving off attacks to the Celtic kingdoms from the
Angles and others. Other places in Britain with names related to "Camel" have also been suggested, such as
Camelford in Cornwall, located down the
River Camel from where Geoffrey places Camlann, the scene of Arthur's final battle. The area's connections with Camelot and Camlann are merely speculative. Further north,
Camelon and its connections with
Arthur's O'on have been mentioned in relation to Camelot, but Camelon may be an antiquarian neologism coined after the 15th century, with its earlier name being
Carmore or
Carmure.
Graham Phillips rejected the word "Camelot" entirely as just Chrétien's invention and instead proposed the old Roman city of
Viroconium (near
Shrewsbury in modern England) as Arthur's capital, citing archaeological evidence of a grand palace having been in use around 500 AD.
Alistair Moffat identified Camelot with
Roxburgh in Scotland. == Modern culture ==