When the legends of mystical Avalon began, Glastonbury, a small town in Somerset, cradled in a cluster of hills in the south of England, was thought to have been a site for pre-Christian worship. A powerful natural phenomenon, visible from nearby, and the highest of these hills, the 500-foot Glastonbury Tor, rising shear from the Somerset levels has inspired spiritual speculation.
Was the Tor a centre for fertility rites based on legends of the great Mother Earth Goddess? Was Avalon a centre for ley-lines--routes of spiritual energy? Around the sides of the Tor is a strange system of terracing. Much weathered and eroded, but still well-defined, it has been interpreted as a maze following an ancient magical pattern. If the maze on the Tor is real, human labour formed it four or five thousand years ago, during the period of the vast ritual works that created Stonehenge. There are also ground for thinking that the Tor might have been a sanctuary of Goddess-worship.
Two thousand years ago, the sea washed right to the foot of the Tor, nearly encircling the cluster of hills. The sea was gradually succeeded by a vast lake. An old name for it is Ynys-wrtrin, the Island of Glass; "island" because, from most angles of approach, it would have looked like one, but it is from Celtic legend that the name Avalon has its true origin--named after the demi-god Avalloc or Avallach, who ruled the underworld. In Celtic lore Avalon was an isle of enchantment.
Ancient myth has it that Avalon, where the sea met the land, was the meeting place of the dead; the point where they passed to another level of existence, and the Tor was the home of Gwyn ap Nudd, the Lord of the Underworld, and a place where the fairy folk lived.
> Legend proclaims that after Arthur's death, a powerful spirit haunted the ruins of the Abbey, appearing as a black-armoured knight with glowing red eyes and a burning desire to eradicate all records of the ancient Arthurian legends which is why, it is said, that those seeking to discover the truth find so few facts available.
Today a notice board marks the spot of Arthur's supposed final resting place. Occasionally people lay flowers there to honor this mighty King whose life and death gave birth to so many myths and legends. These mystical tales that still envelope Glastonbury Abbey in a cloak of mystery, add to its profoundly rich and timeless history.
Taken from Lady Pendragon Vol.3, #4