Doward Hill and Vortigern's Cave
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The oldest Arthurian Site!
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694 Uther
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280 Enchantry
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398 Mystical
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598 Sage
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609 Wizards Dresden
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432 Druids Circle
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084 Applegarth
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This cave is unique in the field of candidates for the cave legend
in that it can actually be explored. Most of the others are normally hidden
from sight and only open in very particular circumstances. Perhaps the
legend is descended from an earlier one involving a false wall somewhere
within. Helen Hill Miller, in her The Realms of Arthur, takes a different
slant to the legend by hinting at a more military use, saying that the
cave's "recesses penetrate very far into the hill, and could hide a substantial
force (115). The cave also has a long history of use; the first people
to live there were of the Old Stone Age. This is older than any other Arthurian
site. It has a parallel to Cadbury Castle in that it is a cave within
a hill fort. The cave is near the Iron Age fort of Little Doward, which
provides an alternative to the Vortigern death story told of Nant Gwrtheyrn.
Besieged by Ambrosius, the fort catches fire and Vortigern is consumed
by the flames. Of course, the Cadbury cave is said to only open on Christmas
Eve, and Arthur's Cave is in plain view year round.
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